Team USA on 4 Nations Face-Off goaltending: ‘It’s a luxury’
USA’s goaltending at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey was less than ideal.
Jonathan Quick was the team’s No. 1, but he went 0-2 with a .863 save percentage. Ben Bishop lost his lone start, allowing four goals in 40 minutes before getting pulled in favor of Corey Schneider.
All three goalies were solid options at the time, and Quick has gone on to become one of the greatest American goaltenders in NHL history. But the team’s 2025 4 Nations Face-Off offerings are the best they’ve ever had.
Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman will make up the trio in Montreal and Boston over the next week and a half, giving them the best goaltending depth of any team in the tournament. And that doesn’t include other standouts this year, such as Anthony Stolarz, Joey Daccord, Thatcher Demko, Charlie Lindgren, Dustin Wolf, Joseph Woll, Spencer Knight, or John Gibson.
The United States has never had this much goaltending depth, and they’re not taking it for granted.
“It’s a luxury,” GM Bill Guerin said during a media conference on Tuesday. “We feel pretty spoiled right now with the level that the goaltending is at in the United States.”
Hellebuyck is the leading candidate to win the Vezina Trophy in 2025, looking to add to the two others in his collection. He also has some international experience, which includes taking home top goalie honors at the 2015 World Championship before he ever stepped foot in the NHL.
Oettinger is a product of the USA National Team Development Program, winning silver at the 2014 U-17 World Hockey Challenge, gold at the 2015 U-18 World Championship and bronze the year at the same event. He also was one of USA’s goaltenders when they won gold at the 2017 World Juniors and bronze in 2018. On the men’s side, Oettinger went 3-0-0 to help the USA win bronze at the 2021 World Championship, his last international action to date.
Swayman has limited USA Hockey experience, having played just one period at the 2018 World Juniors. He did serve as starter at the 2022 World Championship, going 4-3-0 to be named as one of USA’s top three players. Since then, he has taken home the Jennings Trophy for his work with Linus Ullmark in boasting the NHL’s lowest goals against in 2022-23, and has established himself as Boston’s goalie of the future.
Having three NHL star goaltenders to choose from is something most teams can’t say they have. While USA Hockey hasn’t confirmed who will be the Game 1 starter, most expect it to be Hellebuyck – arguably the best goaltender in the tournament.
“You need good goaltending to win, and we have a lot of different options… so we feel very fortunate,” Guerin said.
The United States will open its tournament on Thursday night at 8:00 PM ET against Finland. USA will then take on Canada in the final game in Montreal on Saturday before shifting gears to face Sweden on Monday in Boston. The championship game will take place Feb. 20 at 8:00 PM ET.
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