Michael Hrabal’s Confidence Is on Another Level After Getting First Pro Shutout

Michael Hrabal has done quite a bit in his young, short career. He got drafted, signed an entry-level deal with the Utah Mammoth, and won his first couple of pro games last season with the Tucson Roadrunners. On Friday, he checked off another box. Getting his first pro shutout.

Making 31 saves, Hrabal helped propel the Roadrunners to a 3-0 win over the San Diego Gulls to keep the team’s win streak alive. He wasn’t a backseat driver either. Hrabal made some key saves on players who have had a lot of NHL experience, like Ryan Carpenter and Matthew Phillips. Considering he outdueled Laurent Brossoit, who has played over 140 NHL games and won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights, that’s a pretty notable first shutout.

Hrabal was named the AHL’s first star of the night. Yet, he doesn’t take full credit for the win, making sure to mention his teammates before anything postgame talking about the win.

“It feels great, but at the end of the day, it's a team sport,” Hrabal said. “The win is the most important thing. I just want to get better every day. Just keep improving in practice, improving in games. That's why I'm here. I’m trying to help the team win. Just stack up the wins, help the team, and make it hard.”

However, without stellar play by Hrabal, there’s no denying that this game would’ve been way closer. Look at the shots. While the Roadrunners barely outshot the Gulls in the first two periods, the Gulls peppered the goalie with shots in the third period, outshooting their opponents 13-5.

With UMass, Hrabal had four shutouts over the course of three years. This one is completely different with the level of talent the goalie is facing. The entire game is different, and any player coming over from college will tell you that. Luckily, Hrabal did get some pro games at the end of last season. While it was only five games, it did help him get a grasp of how the AHL works and prepare himself for this season.

“It's a big difference from college, but I think that one month at the end of last year really helped me,” Hrabal said. “I'm very grateful I could join the team last year and get some games. The group here is just unreal. I think the coaches are doing a really good job. I think we have a great team, and if we keep playing like that, we have a big opportunity this year.”

Hrabal isn’t wrong for thinking the Roadrunners have a chance to make a deep run this season. Last year, the goalie did have two top prospects surrounding him here and there throughout the campaign: Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But. This season, the Roadrunners have Tij Iginla, Caleb Desnoyers, Tomas Lavoie, Gabe Smith, Yegor Borikov, and Vadim Moroz, all of whom are expected to be in the NHL someday.

The Roadrunners also have a decent group of former NHLers like Kevin Rooney and Brandon Tanev surrounding the young core. The two of them add to a strong leadership core the team has prided itself on for the past couple of seasons.

Hrabal is quickly becoming one of the players who has a big voice in the locker room and on the ice. Despite his age, his teammates have commented on how vocal he’s been; one of those players is Cameron Hebig, who has played for the Roadrunners for the past seven seasons.

“It's huge to have a backbone back there and a brick wall tonight,” Hebig said. “He's vocal, a big body. He covers a lot of the net, and it's nice. It for sure helps when you've got someone that you can trust when you make a mistake. He's got our back, and so it's been a good start for him. It's good to have him back there.”

To start off the season, Hrabal did have a rough go of things. He allowed six goals in his first two games, failing to record a save percentage above .900. Yet, he kept doing what he does best, working hard in practice and in-game. He was rewarded with the shutout on Friday.

“He's been great, and I think he's been over top of it,” head coach Steve Potvin said. “He's made the big saves, and he's big, but he's also able to move, and he just gives us a lot of confidence. What improvements has he made? I can't tell you. I think that he's got off to a really good start, and he's given us a lot of confidence.”

While the Roadrunners went on to lose the second game of the series against the Gulls, they did pick up a point, extending their point streak to four games. They are now 3-2-1 to begin the season. It’s a big turnaround after starting the season 0-2-0. Despite having all the offensive and defensive talent in the world, the Roadrunners need Hrabal at his best if they want to avoid having the same results they did at the start of this campaign. Friday’s shutout was a prime example of that.

For Hrabal, the 31-save performance couldn’t have come at a better time. In attendance was general manager Bill Armstrong. Maybe more importantly, though, was Hrabal’s dad. The man who helped him become the goalie who made headlines that day.

“He's been the biggest support for me with my mom,” Hrabal said. “My mom had work, so she couldn’t be here, but he watches every game. He tries to come a lot. I'm excited that he could see that.”

The AHL is a different league than the NHL. When goalies are hot in the NHL, the team usually chooses to keep starting them until there is a really good reason not to. In the AHL, because games are often scheduled back-to-back, it’s very rare to see a goalie play multiple games in a row.

However, Hrabal might join that rare party soon. Ilya Nabokov is the first goalie to do it in the Pacific Division this season. The two goaltenders have very similar save percentage numbers. If the Roadrunners go into a series against a weaker opponent, why not? If you ask Hrabal if he can do it, he will say yes in a heartbeat. That’s just how confident he is.

“He's got a lot of confidence, but he's very respectful,” Potvin said. “He's a player that does believe in himself, but he's got a real top personality, and I think he's earning the respect in the room.”

A confident goalie is the best goalie, especially when you’re as young as Hrabal is. If he can stay at this level of play, there’s no limit to what he could achieve this season.