Tampa Bay Lightning News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Austin Elliott, London Knights (Photo credit: London Knights)

London Knights’ Austin Elliott: The Goalie Nobody Saw Coming

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Spencer Lazary | Last updated May 25, 2025 11:24 AM ET

If you haven’t already, remember the name Austin Elliott.

The London Knights goalie has been absolutely unreal this season. I mean, when was the last time that anyone has seen a goalie lose one game in a regular season? No, we aren’t just talking about a 3-1 record. Elliott played in 33 games for the Knights and had a 32-1 record. What’s even crazier is that he helped lead London to the Memorial Cup and only lost one game in 17 games. He won 12 straight games in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) playoffs and had a record of 16-1. So, in 50 games Elliott had only lost two games in total, which is just insane. So why isn’t he a household name? Well, his journey to success with the Knights wasn’t easy. Let’s take a closer look at his path to two losses in 50 games.

Elliott Waived in the WHL

Originally, he was a member of the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League (WHL). In his first season with the Blades, he only appeared in two games and had a 1-0-0 record with a .868 save percentage (SV%) and a 5.27 goals against average (GAA). In his first full season (2022-23) in the WHL, he played in 37 games and looked to be well on his way to having success. He had a 25-6-3 record with a .911 SV% and a 2.20 GAA. In 2023-24, he played in a career-high 43 games and had a 29-8-2 record with a .904 SV% and a 2.33 GAA.

Unfortunately, in 2024-25 things took a turn for the worse for Elliott. He only played three games with the Blades along with a 3-0-0 record and a .897 SV% and a 2.33 GAA. After that, he was placed on waivers and despite not playing poorly, no team in the WHL took a chance on him. That opened him up to be claimed by any team in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). That was when the Barrie Colts took a chance and claimed him, however, only a short time later, he was traded to the Knights for a 14th round selection in 2026 along with a conditional fifth round pick in 2027, which went to Barrie if he were to play at least one game for London. That, interestingly enough, was the best thing that could have ever happened to him.

Elliott Turns Around Career With Knights

Imagine being placed on waivers and having not one team in an entire league be interested because you are an overager. Then all of a sudden get claimed by a team in Ontario and then get dealt to another team. Just to have one of the most insane records of all-time because all you needed was a chance. It is a storyline out of a movie, it is so far-fetched that it doesn’t seem real.

But it is. Elliott has been lights-out this season and battled to a 32-1-0 record with a .924 SV% and a 2.10 GAA. In the playoffs, he played just as well, with a 16-1-0 record and a .906 SV% and a 2.46 GAA, which includes the 12-game winning streak that saw his first loss come in the OHL finals against the Oshawa Generals. His ability to overcome adversity and prove that he still has what it takes to be a high-end goalie in the league earned him a chance in the NCAA with the University of Massachusetts Lowell next season.

After being undrafted in the NHL Draft, Elliott is no longer eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft due to his age. Because he is 21 as of May 14th, he is too old to be drafted, since North American players have to be 20 years old and younger to be listed as a prospect in the draft. Which means, if he wants to make his way to the NHL, he would need to sign with an NHL team, and after the incredible season that he had, he definitely will be on NHL teams’ lists to sign an entry-level contract.

And one more cool part of his story—Austin is the nephew of former NHL goalie Brian Elliott, who played 16 seasons in the league.