Saves In The Making: Catching Up With David Ayres

RALEIGH, NC - The ovation brought by the crowd inside PNC Arena Monday night as the siren sounded to kick off the Canes contest against the Maple Leafs sounded fit for a star that had played over a thousand games for the organization.
Instead, it was for an individual that played just 28:41 of total time in the NHL.

It's safe to say the love and appreciation for David Ayres, who famously rose to his iconic status
when he slid into the crease for the Carolina Hurricanes under emergency circumstances on February 22, 2020
, has not been lost by the fan base. The feelings are mutual though as the happiness felt by Ayres to be back in Raleigh was evident.
In town for a few days with his wife Sarah, this is the third trip back to North Carolina for the now 44-year-old. The Whitby, Ontario native came to town shortly following his momentous evening at Scotiabank Arena and then once again during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"Every time we come down to Raleigh I remember more and more details about that night," Ayres said. "I love coming down here. It's always fun for us and the people are fantastic."
Naturally a whirlwind of emotions, going from an on-call practice netminder for the Toronto Maple Leafs organization to becoming embraced as a darling by the Canes fan base, North Carolina has continued to take on a new meaning for him.
It was here, at The Cheesecake Factory in Raleigh, to be specific, where life changed once again for Ayres. Wearing one of his earbuds as Sarah wore the other, the two held a phone conversation for approximately 45 minutes with someone who had received his number through a member of the Canes staff.
That person?
Popular television host, actor, comedian, writer and producer James Corden.
Why was he calling Ayres?
To initially congratulate him. However, the conversation briefly concluded with interest in potentially producing a movie.
"It was surreal because our kids love him," he said of the discussion. "Our daughter thinks he's unbelievably hysterical and when I came home and told her, she said 'Like, the real James Corden?' She was super pumped about it."
After receiving many pitches from companies with interest in making the movie come to life, ultimately the decision was made to go with Corden's team. Corden's production company will be responsible to produce the picture, which will become a feature film for Disney. Since the initial phone call between the two, the COVID-19 pandemic has altered plans for the timeline for the film, but now the efforts are getting back on track with Ayres set to spend time with one of the writers within the next couple of weeks.
Tabbed to also be a producer on the film, Ayres might be more excited at the potential opportunity to play himself in some of the on-ice scenes in the production.
"I'm more of a hockey guy [than a movie guy], so I'd rather go out there, put my gear on and take a puck off the head," he laughed. "It will be wild and I'm sure it will be a lot of fun to make."

As the process of the motion picture continues to come to fruition, Ayres is not lost in the hype of having a movie based around him, as many would be. Quick to point out some of the other important ventures in his life, his well-documented relationship with
The Canadian Kidney Foundation
and being an advocate for organ donation have also received a plethora of light thanks to his winning performance. Having received a kidney transplant himself, he's always happy to record an assist when anyone has an inquiry.
"I have countless messages from people who reach out and let me know that they're going through dialysis, or they need a kidney and aren't sure what to expect. When I was going through my transplant, I knew of The Canadian Kidney Foundation but I didn't know the extent of how they could help people. Not just the patients either, but the family as well."
An obviously important cause near and dear to him, Ayres has provided several instances of hope for many fighting similar battles to him. At an autograph session in Saskatchewan he met a woman that had drove over three hours just to say thank you for the awareness he was bringing.
"All she wanted to do was to meet me and say thank you, and I was really touched by that," he said of the get-together. "I just gave her a big hug and told her that everything is going to get better now. That sort of stuff is what brings joy to me. All the messages I get and having a platform where I can help people out or bring a smile to their face, that's what I love. I'll always be there for anybody who needs help."
Ayres concluded his touching sentiment with an encouragement to all to ensure that they're an organ donor, if able. Sarah and David now work closely with the family of Logan Boulet, who was one of the players tragically killed in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash. The family, who launched
Green Shirt Day
, April 7, did so to raise awareness for organ donation. Four weeks before the accident that cut short the lives of Boulet and 15 others, Logan registered to be an organ donor and in turn, saved the lives of six others.
"In Canada, not a lot of people sign their donor cards. If you can get somebody to sign it and potentially save up to six lives, that's big. If something ever were to happen to you, but you can still play an important role in saving somebody else's life and that's huge to me."
So, while the eight saves that Ayres made in February of 2020 created this magical story and have given Canes fans plenty to celebrate, the saves he's contributed toward since are perhaps even more celebratory.
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