Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck to start U.S. men’s hockey team opener
The reigning Hart Trophy winner is expected to get his first-career Olympic start.
Winnipeg Jets’ goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will get the net for the United States when they face Latvia on Thursday.
Connor Hellebuyck gets the nod for Team USA tonight in their opener
Thursday will mark Hellebuyck’s first career Olympic start, but it’s far from his first international experience. Before ever playing in the NHL, Hellebuyck went 7-1 with two shutouts and a .948 save percentage at the 2015 World Championship. He’d then share the net with Jimmy Howard in 2017, with Hellebuyck going 2-0 with a .922 save percentage as the team’s backup.
Hellebuyck started three games for the U.S. at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he posted a 2-1 record with a .932 SV%.
Hellebuyck, who has won the Vezina Trophy in three of the last six seasons, is coming off a 2024-25 campaign where he finished with a 47-12-3 record, a 2.00 goals against average (GAA) and .925 save percentage (SV%), one of the best goaltending campaigns in modern NHL history.
But the 32-year-old netminder has had a difficult 2025-26 NHL campaign. Through 36 appearances, Hellebuyck is 13-16-7 with a .900 save percentage (SV%) and 3.5 5v5 goals saved above expected (5v5 GSAx).
In 604 career games, Hellebuyck, a native of Commerce, Mich., is 335-201-51 with a .917 SV% and 2.57 goals against average (GAA).
Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettiger are the two goaltenders who will battle for backup duties.
The Americans will kick off their tournament against Latvia at 3:10 PM ET on Thursday. They’ll then get Friday off before taking on Denmark on Feb. 14, also at 3:10 PM ET. The Americans will close their round-robin portion of the tournament on Sunday at 3:10 PM ET against the Germans.