Dwayne Roloson

Lore & Background

Roloson was born on October 12, 1969, in Simcoe, Ontario. He attended the University of Massachusetts Lowell but did not graduate. He went undrafted and was signed as a free agent by the Calgary Flames in 1994. He played for the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was a member of the Canadian 2007 IIHF World Championship team that won gold. He retired after the 2011–12 season.

In Their Own Story

The ice in the Forum was slick and cold, the kind of night where the boards fogged up and the crowd noise turned to a low, constant hum. Roloson dropped his stick in the corner, crouched, and watched the play develop. The puck came to him in the neutral zone, and for a heartbeat he could have pushed it up ice, taken a shot, made the crowd roar. Instead he made the simple pass, the safe one, the one that kept the structure. The next man scored. The crowd roared for him. Roloson just skated back, adjusted his glove, and waited for the next faceoff. That was the job. That was always the job.

Reader's Guide

Roloson is a goaltender. He is often referred to as 'Roli the Goalie'. He never won a Stanley Cup; he lost in the 2006 finals with the Oilers and in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals with the Lightning. He was the oldest active NHL player after Mark Recchi's retirement in 2011.

Did You Know?

• Roloson earned his first All-Star appearance at age 34 in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game.
• He won the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award for best save percentage in the 2003–04 season.
• During the 2004–05 lockout, Roloson played for Lukko of the Finnish SM-liiga.
• He made 58 saves in a 4–3 overtime win for the Islanders on November 23, 2009, a franchise record.
• Roloson was sworn in as an honorary police officer by the Saint Paul Police Federation.