Hofer ready for the big time

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This article was published 24/10/2023 (716 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Now that the dress rehearsals are in the rear-view mirror, Joel Hofer is ready for his close up.

The Winnipegger has spent the bulk of the past three seasons in the American Hockey League, but graduated to the role of backup goalie with the St. Louis Blues this fall.

The cameo appearances the past two seasons when he got into eight games were an important part of that process.

“It helped a lot. Obviously good for the confidence,” Hofer said before the Blues faced the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. “I got to play in a couple of games and we ended up getting some wins, which is great. Not the result we wanted, not making the playoffs, but the guys are super hungry and eager to get back this year to compete for a playoff spot.”

The Blues have an established No. 1 goalie in Jordan Binnington, who backstopped the franchise to the Stanley Cup in 2019, but Hofer is going to be counted on to play a fair share of the games.

“(Binnington) has been great. We’re pushing each other every day in practice. He’s been playing great,” said Hofer. “I want to challenge (Binnington) and play as many games as I can. I want to help take the team to the playoffs and make a big push there. Just learn a lot.”

Hofer recognizes that part of the learning process is to go through some rough patches.

“It’s a hard league, so there are going to be nights when you want to play better, but those games are crucial for your development,” said Hofer, whose lone start this season was a 6-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes. “It’s just a pathway to becoming great.

“It’s a dream come true, for sure. A lot of fun, obviously. I’ve been trying to soak it all in. Creating those bonds with the guys. I’m just looking to going to battle with the guys and enjoying every day.”

Hofer, 23, split his junior career between the Portland Winterhawks and Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League and led Canada to a gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship in 2020.

One of the highlights of Hofer’s professional career came during the 2022 Calder Cup playoffs when he scored a goal for the Springfield Thunderbirds, shooting the puck into an empty net after the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.

“It’s something that I thought about many times, so it was definitely nice to get one,” said Hofer. “But I’d love to get another one for sure.”

Blues teammate Tyler Tucker was on the ice when that goal was scored by Hofer and has been around for a good portion of this ride.

“It was pretty cool to see and to share that moment with him. It’s something he’s been trying to do for a long time. To see him finally get one was nice,” said Tucker, who was roommates with Hofer for the past three seasons in the AHL. “We had a lot of laughs after at home. Especially when you know how good he is handling the puck. For him to take advantage of that scenario, with them dumping the puck right on him and him having that much time and empty net, it was pretty cool to see.”

Hofer said he’s spent a lot of time working on his puck handling since turning pro.

“It was something that I was okay at in junior, but I really wanted to take it up a notch. It’s something I take pride in and some guys don’t take too seriously. It’s something I work on quite a bit,” said Hofer. “It’s something me and (Binnington) take pride in. Anything to help the team and help our D stay out of our zone. It’s something we work on every day. With our system, to get pucks out of our zone early, that creates offence.”

The Blues chose Hofer in the fourth round (107th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft and he’s projected to be the goalie of the future.

“He’s going to be a good goalie in this league for a long time,” said Blues captain Brayden Schenn. “He has the right mindset, the right attitude. He wants to get better, he wants to learn and he’s never satisfied or complacent with where he’s at.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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