If Team USA is going to win its first gold medal in men’s hockey since the Miracle on Ice team in 1980, then it’s going to need goaltender Connor Hellebuyck playing maybe the best he’s ever played, which is asking for a lot.
Headed into Wednesday’s Olympic quarterfinals against Sweden, Hellebuyck has been doing just that, with a .952 save percentage through 2 starts, stopping 40 of 42 shots.
“This is exciting,” Hellebuyck said. “This is why I play the game. I don’t chase the money, I don’t chase the fame. I play for fun. And these are those moments that I really enjoy.”
Hellebuyck, 32 years old, could change how he’s viewed in the hockey world with a run to the medal round in what’s been considered a down year with him on the Winnipeg Jets, where he signed a 7-year, $59.5 million contract extension in July 2023.
“He’s a gamer,” Team USA forward Dylan Larkin told the New York Post. “I believe in him and no one else I’d want to have in the net than him,” Dylan Larkin said of Hellebuyck, who will almost assuredly start the rest of the way for the Americans. “I learned quickly last year at 4 Nations, giving up a big chance or something happens and you’re like, ‘Oh, we got that guy.’ It’s nice when you have that.”
Hellebuyck has had previous success on the international stage. He went 7-1-0 at the 2015 World Championship while leading the U.S. to a bronze medal with a 1.37 GAA and a .948 save percentage — the 7 wins were the most for a U.S. goalie in a single tournament since 1939.
Here’s what you need to know about Hellebuyck ahead of what could be a historical finish for Team USA.
Wife Andrea Hellebuyck Turns Heads at Olympics
While Hellebuyck, a 32-year-old Michigan native, has turned heads with his play at the Olympics in Italy, his wife has turned heads off the ice.
Andrea Hellebuyck posted a picture of herself on her official Instagram account’s stories in an all-black outfit captioned “Priest Vibes” on February 16.
The couple have 2 young children and Andrea Hellebuyck has been documenting her trip to Italy thoroughly on social media.
“It’s good to see that Hellebuyck has the unconditional support of his wife ahead of what might be the most important games of his professional hockey career to this point,” Sports Illustrated’s Grant Young wrote on Monday.
Already One of NHL’s Greatest Goalies of All Time
Hellebuyck was drafted in the 5th round by the Jets in the 2012 NHL draft after 2 years at Umass Lowell, where he won the Mike Richter Award as the nation’s top collegiate goaltender, followed by 1 season with the Odessa Jackalopes in the NAHL.
Hellebuyck became the Jets’ full-time goalie in 2016 and is a 3-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goaltender. In 2025, he became the first goaltender to win the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Mosts Valuable Player since Montreal’s Carey Price in 2015.
“At 32 years old, Hellebuyck has already cemented his place as one of the most talented goalies the league has ever seen,” The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus wrote on Wednesday. “He’s one of just 13 goalies in NHL history with three Vezina trophies, tied with the likes of Patrick Roy, Glenn Hall and Tony Esposito. He’s one of just eight who have won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player, and one of just three this century.”
How $59 Million Team USA Goalie Connor Hellebuyck Can Help Win Olympic Gold