Dubnyk goes from bust to breakout star

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This article was published 22/11/2016 (3272 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The story of Devan Dubnyk’s transformation from first-round flameout to an elite NHL goaltender may seem like a miracle now.

Just don’t tell Dubnyk. The Minnesota Wild puckstopper says he never doubted his ability. Fate and hard work combined to set the stage for what he has become.

“It’s tough to say because I never stopped believing in myself,” said Dubnyk Tuesday afternoon, recalling the time he went from has-been to an all-star.

“I thought I played some pretty good years in Edmonton and one (season) kinda fell apart. I enjoyed my time there and I got a lot of experience,” he said. “The important part was first going to Arizona. That organization put full confidence in me. Not just signing me. The way they talked to me, the support they gave me coming in… that allowed me to hit the reset button.”

The Oilers traded Dubnyk to Nashville midway through the 2013-14 season. The Predators turned around and dealt him two months later to the Montreal Canadiens, who shipped him to the minors. What seemed like a dead end became a restart during the summer of 2014, when he signed a one-year free-agent deal with the Coyotes.

A crucial change came during that summer when Dubnyk was introduced to a puck-tracking system by ex-NHLer Stephen Valiquette.

Valiquette is a proponent of a style preached by goaltending guru Lyle Mast in which goalies are instructed to track the puck with their eyes and not move their bodies until absolutely necessary. James Reimer of the Florida Panthers, Carolina’s Eddie Lack and Eric Comrie of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose are also adherents of the method. 

Valiquette “kinda introduced me to the principles of head tracking… it was very, very scratch the surface,” the 6-5 Dubnyk explained. “I got a little more forward, got a little lower and it allowed me access to my arms and better chest angle…

“It works for everybody. It’s really about using your head first for everything. Looking at the puck before you do anything else… You feel like you have to be fast, you feel like you have to move. When you get it and you realize you don’t, then you become more patient and a lot more comfortable.”

Coyotes goaltending coach Sean Burke also helped pave the way for a career rebirth.

“Burkie tightened up all my skating,” Dubnyk said. “He got me set on every shot. We just worked on very simple things but everything was to keep me in control and keep me set when the shot came. All of a sudden, I was tighter, there were less holes and things started to roll from there.”

Dubnyk thrived in the desert but a trade-deadline deal to the Wild sent his career into orbit. He was a Vezina Trophy runner-up to Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens, posting a 27-9-1 record, 1.78 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage to drive Minnesota to a playoff berth.

In 2015-16, his numbers dipped to 32-26-6, with a .918 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average, but he’s been back at his all-star form in 2016-17. 

Dubnyk, who got a rare night off in Dallas Monday, has been astonishing with four shutouts, a 1.59 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage. Unfortunately for the Wild, his modest 7-6-1 record is due mainly to their inability to score goals. In Dubnyk’s 14 starts, Minnesota has scored 34 goals. In five of those games, they have scored one or fewer.

“From the start of the season, he’s been right up there,” said veteran Wild centre Eric Staal. “No question. He’s been elite and a difference-maker pretty much every night he’s been in there.”

In 2015, Dubnyk, an unrestricted free agent, signed a six-year, US$26-million deal to stay with the Wild. It seems like a bargain now.

“I’m happy where I am,” said Dubnyk, who expresses no regret about the deal. “With our (salary) cap situation I don’t think that it was going to be available really to do much more. It’s maybe a little disappointing that it happened to be that situation but, hey, that’s the way it goes. This is the spot I love. The organization, the team and the city… If I were to wait a year and want more money, I wouldn’t be here.”

PRAISE FOR COMRIE

Dubnyk was first introduced to the puck-tracking system he uses by going on the ice with Winnipeg Jets prospect Comrie.

“It was fun to watch a guy who’s not a real big guy look big in the net,” Dubnyk said. “(I thought), if he can cover that much net, think about how much net I can cover? He’s going to be a special goalie.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14