The Toronto Maple Leafs wasted no time in locking up one of their goaltending prospects.
The Toronto Maple Leafs wasted no time in locking up one of their goaltending prospects.
The club signed Dennis Hildeby to a three-year, entry-level contract. The average annual value of the contract is $843,330.
The 20-year-old Hildeby skated in seven regular season games with Farjestad of the Swedish Hockey League during the 2021-22 season. He posted a 1.93 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.
“Hildeby with Farjestad was a player that Jon Elkin (Leafs goalie evaluator) identified earlier in the year,” Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said of the goaltender. “It’s a bit of a different path, he’s a bit older but had a good season this year.
“And Jon, through the case that he built for him made us very very passionate about being able to com away from the draft with him.”
Hildeby will be one of many prospects that will attend the Maple Leafs prospects development camp scheduled to begin on Sunday.
With goaltending dominating the headlines around the Maple Leafs lately, Hildeby is another project goaltender the club will have in the fold. He was one of five players the Leafs selected at the 2022 NHL Draft.
Hildeby was taken in the fourth round, 122nd overall.
Toronto’s top pick in the draft was Kamloops Blazers forward Fraser Minten, who the club selected with the 38th overall selection.
Additional selections include forward Nicholas Moldenhauer from Chicago of the USHL with the 95th pick, forward Nikita Grebenkin from Magnitogorsk 2 from the MHL with the 135th pick and forward Brandon Lisowsky from the Saskatoon Blades with the 218th pick.