From Discover Airdrie
By Anna Ferensowicz
Before Garrett Fuller wore an assistant captain’s “A” on his University of Utah jersey, the letter sat somewhere else: his goalie mask.
Fuller was playing for the Airdrie CFR Bisons in 2019-20 when he was named an assistant captain. He said league rules at the time didn’t allow him to wear the “A” on his jersey, so he borrowed an idea from one of the goalies who had helped inspire him to get between the pipes.
Roberto Luongo had worn the captain’s “C” on his mask while serving as captain of the Vancouver Canucks.
In an interview with DiscoverAirdrie, Fuller traced his own “A” back to Luongo.
“I grew up a big Canucks fan, so Roberto Luongo was probably one of the reasons I got into being a goalie,” Fuller said.
Fuller said he didn’t fully understand what the letter on Luongo’s mask meant when he was young. That changed as he got older.
“It just made me want to strive for it and see it was something that was possible as a goalie,” he said.
Now in his third year with the University of Utah’s Men’s Division 1 club hockey program, Fuller can wear the letter on his jersey. Utah lists Airdrie as his hometown and San Diego State University as his previous collegiate team.
He called being recognized as a leader “one of the biggest honours I’ve had so far in my hockey career.”
Fuller said goaltenders can sometimes be viewed differently within a team, with their job reduced to stopping the puck. The assistant captaincy, for him, carries responsibilities beyond the crease.
“I don’t take the responsibility lightly,” Fuller said.
He said that means leading on the ice and being someone younger players can approach for advice or simply to talk.
Finding home somewhere new
Fuller’s route from Airdrie to Salt Lake City took several turns.
After the Bisons, Fuller said he spent three years with the Drumheller Dragons before looking south for university.
“I wanted to go to the U.S. for sure and just experience a new way of life and meet new people, see what opportunities there were away from home,” he said.
His first university hockey stop was San Diego State.
Fuller said he knew little about American club hockey before going south and hadn’t initially realized the school even had a hockey team.
“It was a good year, definitely very different from Airdrie, but it was fun nonetheless,” he said.
The fit, however, wasn’t quite what he had hoped.
“Didn’t feel too much like home.”
Then Fuller found Salt Lake City.
“I found the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and it reminded me a lot of Calgary, Airdrie,” he said. “We’re right up against the mountains.”
Utah also gave Fuller the broader U.S. college experience he had been looking for, including college football games.
“The amount I’ve seen hockey grow in just the three years I’ve been here has been crazy to see,” Fuller said.
His numbers at Utah have come with individual recognition.
Elite Prospects lists Fuller with a .930 save percentage, a 2.18 goals-against average and four shutouts over 19 games in 2024-25.
Utah’s player page lists the 2025 WCHL All League 1st Team Award and 2024-25 M1 Goaltender of the Year among Fuller’s honours.
Utah’s official statistics also list Fuller at 3-0 through his first three appearances of the 2026-27 season.
Carrying Kalix with him
Fuller said he designed his current goalie mask himself.
It includes a tribute to Kalix Langenau, whom Fuller grew up training with. His memories include their time at Explosive Edge in Airdrie.
“Kalix was a big impact on my life,” Fuller said. “We grew up training together when he was a goalie, and I remember he really wanted to get into sports broadcasting.”
One memory has stayed with him.
“Every day when I would walk into Explosive Edge, he would just light up and announce my name like he was a sports broadcaster.”
Fuller said the tribute serves as a reminder before practices and games.
“It’s just a good reminder every day to just go, whether it’s practice or games, just go into them with the same light and excitement that we had when we were kids training together,” he said.
It is also, Fuller said, “a way to honour his life.”
Another run at nationals
Fuller said Utah has reached nationals in each of his first two years with the program. Utah’s statistics also record him appearing in the Men’s Division 1 national playoffs in both 2025 and 2026.
“Obviously the goal is to win a national championship,” Fuller said.
Asked what he hoped his hockey path might mean back in Airdrie, Fuller turned to coaching and the opportunities available to younger players.
He said he has been coaching goalies in Airdrie during the summers for roughly four or five years and also tries to get involved with youth programs in Utah.
“This club hockey experience might not be the traditional path, but it’s growing,” he said.
“Whether I’m coaching or giving back is just letting kids know that wherever they want to go, that it is possible, and they just got to keep working towards it and do whatever they can to reach their goals.”
Years after Fuller painted the letter onto his mask in Airdrie, he no longer needs to find somewhere else to put it.
The “A” is on his jersey.
(Originally published at https://www.discoverairdrie.com/articles/airdrie-goalie-garrett-fullers-road-to-utah-is-written-on-his-mask–and-jersey)
