Most people would cringe at the thought of catching a hockey puck with their teeth. But for Maggie, a three-year-old German shepherd, it’s a welcome challenge.
Maggie the goalie, as she’s known online, hails from Tracadie, in northeastern New Brunswick, but her notoriety isn’t limited to her local municipality.
The hockey-playing pup has gained a huge following on social media and just recently appeared on Canada’s Got Talent.
Maggie’s owner, Yannick Devost, doubles as her trainer and said Maggie has had a natural ability from the start.
He was in the backyard one day shooting some pucks when Maggie, who was only a year old at the time, started trying to catch them.
“It became her favourite activity and she would beg me to go play every day,” said Devost.
From there, lots of training went into getting Maggie to where she is now. But she knew 50 commands when she was a one-year-old pup, so Devost said he was able to use those to teach her the hockey tricks.
Devost said Maggie is also learning how to shoot, although he said that trick is proving more difficult to teach than stopping shots.
Playing in the big leagues
Maggie has had the opportunity to play with big names in the hockey business, including Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau, goalies for the Montreal Canadiens, and Montreal PWHL team captain Marie-Philip Poulin.
She’s performed during intermission at hockey games and even got to demonstrate her skills on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
During the audition for Canada’s Got Talent, Maggie took her spot in front of the net. After the first few shots, Devost upped the ante by pouring out a bag of tennis balls as a distraction.
But Maggie held her focus, ignoring the dream scenario for most dogs, and kept her eyes on the puck. She successfully blocked the final shot, earning a standing ovation from some in the audience and approval from all four judges.
“She is very focused,” said Devost. “She loves the puck. So that’s her whole life. She’s a working dog … and she thinks her job is being a hockey goalie, so she takes this very seriously.”
Devost said the show was a great experience, despite being a long, hard day for Maggie.
But the choice to go on a Canadian talent competition show couldn’t be more fitting for the New Brunswick pair, something Devost pointed out to the judges while standing with Maggie on the Niagara Falls stage.
“She plays hockey — she’s the most Canadian dog ever, right?”
With files from Shift
This story was originally published in CBC News on April 14, 2024.
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