David Ayres has become more than an overnight sensation.
The goaltender, whose victory for the Carolina Hurricanes against the Maple Leafs continued to dominate much of social media on Sunday, is filling his calendar for the week.
The Hurricanes are flying their star-for-a-night to Raleigh for their game on Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars, when he will be the siren sounder and undoubtedly get a standing ovation at PNC Arena.
“It has been crazy,” Ayres said of the attention that has come since his performance at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night. “I’ll get to spend more time with the guys on Tuesday, which is really good. They’re a great team, a great organization.
“I’m getting a lot of requests and stuff like that, but it comes with the territory.”
Ayres was paid $500 US and got to keep his Hurricanes sweater. It’s going to be framed and hung at home.
When we talked to Ayres at the Ford Performance Centre on Sunday afternoon, plans were in the works to have him make an appearance on NBC’s morning show in New York City on Monday. Also in the mix was an appearance on TSN’s TradeCentre show.
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper tweeted that he was ready to make Ayres an honorary North Carolina citizen; the Hurricanes are selling Ayres’ No. 90 t-shirts on their web site, with a portion of the royalties going to a kidney foundation, as Ayres had a kidney transplant in 2004.
The Hurricanes, who recalled goalies Anton Forsberg and Alex Nedeljkovic on Sunday to fill in for injured James Reimer and Petr Mrazek, changed their team twitter bio to read DAVE AYRES THE GOAT.
And who would play Ayres in the movie, if one was made?
“I don’t know, not really sure,” Ayres said with a smile. “I watch a lot of movies, but I couldn’t tell you a ton of actors.”
Ayres’ wife, Sarah, said that visiting the Hurricanes on Tuesday was at the top of her husband’s list.
When Ayres was named first star on Saturday, he entered the Carolina dressing room to loud cheers from his new teammates, who showered him with water and other liquids.
“Amazing,” Sarah Ayres said. “I’ve watched that video probably 50 times already. It was phenomenal, but that’s hockey for you, right?
“It’s still unbelievable. We woke up (Sunday) morning and both of us were laying in bed for a couple hours … we hadn’t talked to each other because we were so busy messaging.
“It will be nice when things calm down and we can go over everything and digest everything that has happened.”
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