‘Nobody wants to see me’ | Sabres EBUG Jack McNaughton understands his role

Jack McNaughton knows his modern EBUG lore.

March 29, 2018 – Chicago: Blackhawks goalie Anton Forsberg gets hurt during warmups; backup Collin Delia gets hurt in the third period. Enter Scott Foster, a 36-year-old accountant. Fourteen minutes and seven saves to close out a win over the Jets.

Feb. 22, 2020 – Toronto: Hurricanes goalies James Reimer and Petr Mrazek both exit with injuries. Enter David Ayres, a 42-year-old Zamboni driver for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Twenty-eight minutes, eight saves and a win over the Maple Leafs. Beat the home team, receive a standing ovation.

For both emergency backup goaltenders (EBUGs), those unexpected heroics were their lone professional appearances. The now-49-year-old Ayres, in fact, currently plays for the American Premier Hockey League’s Buffalo Tempest, an amateur men’s team based in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

But their legacies live on.

“Scott Foster, when he went in in Chicago, and David Ayres in Toronto, it’s always entertaining,” recalled McNaughton, whom the Sabres hired in August as EBUG and goaltending scout.

“You tune into the game, or you see the highlights, you’re like, ‘No way, this guy actually played minutes!’”

The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) mandates that each team employ a designated EBUG. Many hold secondary job titles, like McNaughton’s as a scout. If a team has only two healthy, active goalies, the EBUG travels, too. He must meet several criteria to qualify for the role. Essentially: fewer than 80 games of professional experience, with none coming in the NHL and none in the last three seasons.

McNaughton, 25, won 20 games across four seasons at the University of Western Ontario, graduating in 2026 with a degree in finance. Struggling to find a pro opportunity in Europe, the Calgary native got on Sabres assistant GM Jerry Forton’s radar via his agency, Bartlett Hockey, and landed the job.

“A couple of my buddies who also graduated, we were all just checking in with each other when I told them I got it,” McNaughton said. “They didn’t believe me for a few days, and then they saw a post on Instagram that I was doing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s not actually lying.’”

The 6-foot-1 netminder didn’t expect much ice time, considering the Sabres’ plan to roster three goalies, but Alex Lyon’s injury made McNaughton a near-everyday presence at practices, morning skates and road trips. The starting goalie typically leaves the ice first, then the backup. Then there’s McNaughton, taking extra shots long after practice ends and receiving pointers from goaltending coach Mike Bales.

“Being on the ice and actually seeing how good these guys really are, it’s night and day, honestly,” he said. “Just being able to see how Bales interacts with the other goalies, and just seeing the conversations and some of the video… There’s still a big learning curve for me, but just seeing the nitty gritty stuff that goes on behind the scenes, it’s been amazing.”

Hockey pucks can sting – that’s universal. But not many guys in U Sports, Canada’s college athletics body, can rip them like Tage Thompson or Jack Quinn.

“I’ve taken a couple off the head, and it really rings your bell a little bit,” McNaughton laughed. “Your ears are ringing for a bit. Everybody can shoot the puck pretty hard, so if it gets you in an odd spot, you’re definitely noticing it pretty quick.”

McNaughton played junior hockey with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, his teammates including current Amerks Zac Funk and Riley Fiddler-Schultz, as well as Dakota Krebs, Peyton’s older brother. He hadn’t known any of the current Sabres, though. Lyon has unsurprisingly been a welcoming presence, happy to show McNaughton the ropes of NHL life.

Through training camp and the start of the regular season, McNaughton’s hodgepodge of gear included his Western Ontario pads and brief Sabre Alexandar Georgiev’s glove/blocker. He’s since gotten Sabres equipment, with his mask reading the nickname “Bugzy” – a play on EBUG that seems to have stuck.

“The turnaround [for equipment orders] is way quicker than it was in college, for sure,” he pointed out.

Lyon’s healthy again, but that won’t cast McNaughton aside. Other injuries will pop up, and goalies benefit from maintenance days sprinkled in throughout the season, so there’s always room for an extra body in practice.

And then there’s the scouting role, which has McNaughton attending college games and watching film – work that, he feels, helps him understand his own play in net. Between that and coaching from Bales and the Sabres’ goalies, McNaughton has a lot to gain from this job.

One thing he won’t gain, most likely, is an NHL appearance. McNaughton understands the irony of his job: As cool as a signature EBUG moment would be, a la Foster or Ayres, it would take a string of bad news for him to ever suit up for the blue and gold.

“Obviously, nobody wants to see me on the ice, preferably,” McNaughton said. “That means everything’s going right, everybody’s healthy.

“I do see that aspect of it, where part of my job is, if I’m not having to do my job, it’s a good thing. It’s a double-edged sword, for sure.”

He’s a unique part of the team, but a part nonetheless. On Oct. 30 in Los Angeles, birthday boys Thompson and Dennis Gilbert led the post-practice stretching circle. But there was another birthday in the group that day, and the Sabres wouldn’t let it go unrecognized.

“Get in there, Bugzy!”