'I Expect Only The Best For Me': Maple Leafs Goaltending Prospect Dennis Hildeby Ready For Second Season with Marlies, Not Thinking of NHL Future
Hildeby is one of three goalies — along with Peksa and Akhtyamov — participating in the Maple Leafs' prospect camp.
Although it seems like Dennis Hildeby might have a bright future at the NHL level, it's not what he's thinking about ahead of his second pro season in North America.
The 23-year-old goaltending prospect had an incredible debut season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. 41 games played, a .913 save percentage, a Marlies-record 21 wins as a rookie goaltender, and an AHL All-Star nod.
It was a massive year for Hildeby — one that he hopes to build off of this season.
"I expect only the best for me, to do the best every day, take one day at a time. A lot of mentality, just staying balanced and trying to enjoy myself," the netminder said when asked about his expectations for this season.
"I think that's the best recipe for success. Whatever happens, it's very hard to predict, but I think if I do all the things I should do and I do them as good as I can, things can turn out well. That's the plan."
Standing at 6-foot-7, Hildeby takes up most of the net already. However, he also said that one of his goals is to add more muscle, which should help in other areas of his game.
Hildeby has also worked a lot this summer on preventing injuries during the season and trying to add more speed in the net.
"Off ice, I like where my physical abilities are. I've been working a lot with maintaining that and a lot of prehab, strengthening up joints and trying to prevent injuries in the future," Hildeby said.
"On ice, a lot of pushing my pace, doing everything quicker, under control of course, but just focusing on that speed all the time and getting faster. A lot of focus on rotations too, just a couple of technical stuff I think will help."
Toronto is loaded with goaltenders this season. In the NHL, you'll likely see Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz — barring any injuries — take the reigns. With the Marlies in the AHL, it'll likely be Hildeby, Matt Murray, and potentially one, or both of, Artur Akhtyamov and Vyacheslav Peksa.
It's possible that if one of Woll or Stolarz goes down with an injury, Hildeby is the first choice to be brought up to the NHL level. Hildeby already had one stint with the Maple Leafs last season, though he didn't make his NHL debut.
Whether that occurs this season remains to be seen, and Hildeby admitted on Thursday during Day 2 of Maple Leafs prospect camp that he tries not to think about the future in the NHL.
"Of course, that's always going to be the goal. I think I'm not the only one with that goal, so that's always what we work towards," he said.
"I just don't want it to take up too much of my thinking or my brain time or whatever, because I think that can create some problems. Of course, that's what I'm going for for sure. I'm just trying to do my best."
There were a lot of positives for Hildeby to take away from his first AHL season. He was strong, his preparation was "elite," and he made it easy for the defensemen in front of him to play their game.
"He's a great goalie. He's a big guy and it's easy to play when I know he's in the net every time and I can trust him 100 percent," his Marlies teammate, Topi Niemela, said on Thursday.
Marlies head coach John Gruden was there every step of the way with Hildeby last season. But now, another step in the right direction is needed, and that could lead to an NHL debut later this season.
"He had a really good year (last year), it was only his first year playing over here in North America. So he has to understand just the consistency and being an everyday pro, what it's like," Gruden, who's leading Toronto's prospect camp, said on Thursday.
"And he's a big body, so it just takes guys like that, especially goaltenders, a little bit longer. But he puts in the work too. He's got a good structure, he's got a good foundation to himself, and now he's just gotta continue to grow in that regard."
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