Hellebuyck already in mid-season form

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This article was published 17/10/2024 (354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Connor Hellebuyck isn’t the type of person who gets swept away by early success.

Statistics are something the Winnipeg Jets all-world goaltender pays attention to, but it’s not how he measures his performance.

While Hellebuyck has an appreciation for history and some of the personal milestones he’s chasing, he doesn’t let those things interfere with his ultimate goal.

When the two-time Vezina Trophy winner holds court on Thursday afternoon, he’s not revelling in the numbers he’s put up to help the Jets get off to a 3-0 start for the first time in franchise history.

“I really don’t like comparing years because every year I feel like I get so much better and my details get so much stronger. Honestly, the structure is a little more dialed in,” said Hellebuyck, whose team welcomes the San Jose Sharks to Canada Life Centre on Friday as they continue a four-game homestand. “Stats are stats. It fluctuates. We’re at a high right now. Everything averages out. The main thing is that we’re winning.”

To say Hellebuyck is on a high is an understatement.

He’s already posted a shutout and allowed only two goals in three starts, with two of those games requiring overtime.

By turning aside 81 of 83 shots on goal that he’s faced, Hellebuyck has posted a gaudy .976 save percentage and a minuscule goals-against average of 0.66.

It’s important Hellebuyck recognizes those numbers should average out, but his ability to perform at an elite level has been a staple since he became the full-time starting goalie during the 2016-17 season.

Since posting a .907 save percentage that season, Hellebuyck hasn’t been below .910 and he’s routinely been above .920 — including his career-best of .924 during the 2017-18 campaign.

Save percentage isn’t the be-all and end-all for statistics and Hellebuyck has also found himself frequently at or near the top of goals saved above expected by sites that track that information, including MoneyPuck.

“The way that I am seeing the game is mid-season form right now. Things are just clicking.” said Hellebuyck, whose career save percentage sits at .917. “I’ve got a real good read on the game and, mentally, I’m not overthinking. I’m not overthinking anything. I’m just out there playing and having fun. That stuff matters.”

The Jets’ commitment to team defence and lowering the high-danger scoring chances they allow in front of Hellebuyck has helped that process along, but it’s not always a seamless transition for a netminder to go from being on a team that surrenders a higher volume of shots to one that is much stingier defensively.

“They’re both difficult games, but I’ve always thought that if you want to be an elite goaltender, you have to be able to manage both games,” said Hellebuyck. “That being said, it’s being focused and really being confident in not getting a whole lot of action but still feeling it.”

Hellebuyck is up to 508 NHL games in his career and he’s set to make his 500th start on Friday.

Now 31 and starting the first year of the seven-year, US$59.5-million contract he signed last October, Hellebuyck understands the importance of the experience he’s gained during his first nine NHL seasons.

In the goalie world, Hellebuyck is viewed as someone with an elite ability to anticipate how the play is developing in front of him.

“Guys get trickier and guys get a little sneakier with what they’re trying to do. They don’t give away what they’re trying to do, so the reads are always changing and evolving,” said Hellebuyck, noting that’s an area that always requires further fine-tuning. “I never say that I’ve got something down. I’m always trying to learn what little tips from what areas of the ice are dangerous, statistically who is shooting from where and when and why?

“There’s a lot that goes into studying film that’s not just structure and details.”

Hellebuyck loves to dissect those intricacies of the game and the movements that accompany the reads he’s making in real time.

“I was in there for the video sessions, and the way he breaks down the game is second to none,” said Jets backup goalie Eric Comrie. “His hockey knowledge and what he sees in games, it’s special. A lot of people can learn from that.”

When asked if he keeps a book on his opponents, Hellebuyck gave the type of answer which was meant to keep reporters — and those opposing shooters — guessing.

“No. I don’t have a book and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you guys,” said Hellebuyck, who has 278 wins and 38 career shutouts. “I can’t really answer that question fully. I’m never really studying a guy, individually. I’m studying what a player is doing in that specific scenario and why and what’s open. These are all things you have to be able to take in with a flick of the switch.”

As a followup question, a reporter wondered if there was any correlation to playing poker — where playing the odds is often part of the decision-making process on any given hand that is played.

After explaining he’s not really good at poker because of the energy he spends perfecting his craft, Hellebuyck thought it was a fair comparison.

“It’s similar, in that there’s a lot of statistical analysis that goes into poker. I guess you could use that in goaltending, but I think it’s more of a feel thing,” said Hellebuyck. “When I say it’s a statistical thing, it doesn’t mean that he’s going to do that 50 per cent of the time. It just means the odds are he’s probably going to do this if his body’s leaning that way and if the angle of his blade is a certain way.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld