Two months after he rocketed to fame as an emergency backup goaltender for the Carolina Hurricanes, David Ayres is turning that fame toward a good cause.
The 42-year-old has teamed up with the Kidney Foundation of Canada to kick-start an emergency fund to help those with kidney disease get the help they need amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Ayres, the initiative is a deeply personal one. At the age of 27, 15 years before he would stun audiences and help the Hurricanes take a crucial 6-3 victory over Toronto, the Zamboni driver, Maple Leafs practice goaltender, and Mattamy Athletic Centre operations manager received a kidney transplant from his mother after being diagnosed with kidney disease. “I couldn’t see anybody,” Ayres recalled on