Dennis Hildeby isn't just playing the game of hockey for himself.
When the 22-year-old was drafted by Toronto in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, he said he was "honored" to be a part of the Maple Leafs organization. With the history, Toronto being original-six team as well as one of the biggest hockey markets in the world, Hildeby was elated to soon wear the blue and white.
After 21 games in Sweden last year, where the Jarfalla, Sweden native put up an astonishing .918 save percentage with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League, Hildeby arrived in Toronto, ready to leap into the next era of his career.
He played two games with the Marlies last spring after arriving in the city. The 22-year-old allowed eight goals through the two appearances, which definitely wasn't the start Hildeby had hoped for.
Through nine games this season, though, the 22-year-old has a .925 save percentage. That step — coming to Toronto in the spring, and then returning to the city in August — was vital to setting Hildeby up for success ahead of this season.
"I think it helped a lot," he told me in a one-on-one interview earlier this week.
"Probably, mainly, things outside of hockey. You get a feel for the town and I get to know a lot of the staff, getting a head start that way. Feeling more comfortable when I arrived in the summer. So I think that helped a lot.
"Obviously, getting a little feel for the size of the rink and that sttuff, too. And a head start when it comes to me and Hannu [Toivonen] (Marlies goaltending coach), what he want to work with me, like what he want to do, same what I wanted to do, so I think it was a head start and good for me."
The 22-year-old also attributes part of his success this season to his relationship with Toivonen. Though, how has it gone so swimmingly?
"I mean, [he's] a Finn, so we got that Scandinavian blood," Hildeby said with a glaring smile.
"I think we agree on a lot of things, have good discussions, we come up with ideas, both of us, it's been good so far."
The six-foot-seven goaltender might not reveal much, with his calmness on and off the ice. But being such a relaxed individual reveals a great deal of why he's having success during his first season in North America.
Hildeby never appears stressed. It's as though nothing can phase him while he's in the net. That's a testament to his abundance of work off the ice.
"I work a lot with mental strength. I have a guy helping me with that. That definitely helps a lot," Hildeby said.
"We're very big on breathing, calming yourself down, because as a goalie, I think at least, you shouldn't have any emotions. That's when you play the best. Like some guys say they play better when they're angry, doesn't work for me.
"So I'm just trying to work on my breathing, focus on what I want to do, have a plan set up for what I want to do during the game, and just focus on that while I'm breathing it helps a lot to calm down."
But there's a significant motivation that helps Hildeby work so hard as well.
"I think over the years, too, obviously this is a dream I'm chasing, like I've been chasing since I was a little kid. The older I got, I realized the important things in life," Hildeby said.
"Hockey's always important to me, but it's not going to last forever. The most important thing I have is my family and keeping them in mind all the time makes hockey not feel that important, which also helps I'd say."
As we've seen with William Nylander in Sweden during the NHL's Global Series, the Maple Leafs are very well loved everywhere. They're a historic team that's cemented itself all throughout the world.
Being drafted by that team, for Hildeby, was very special. And his family — who are just as invested as he is in his career — are beside him as he winds through the beginnings of his career in North America.
"I talk to them a lot and they're very invested in my career. They want to talk hockey all the time, but I try and shut that down and talk about other normal stuff," Hildeby laughed.
"But that's also one of the big things of why I want to succeed. I want to play for them and make them proud after everything they've done for me. So that's a big motivation for me, making them proud too."
One netminder who's made his way through the ranks in Toronto is Joseph Woll. He was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft, and after an incredibly strong season in the AHL (putting up a .927 save percentage in 21 games) last year, became one of the Maple Leafs' goaltenders.
It's a testament to say, if you work hard in the AHL and you play well at the right moment, you could get your chance. It could come quickly too.
And Hildeby has seen that with Woll.
"[He's] a role model to look at," the netminder said.
"It's very early in his NHL career. He kind of made a journey that went, from outside, it looked like it just went to the sky straight away, and that's really good. I got to see him a lot during training camp, too, and see how he works. It's a lot of hard work there, so it's good to see that if you put in that amount of work, like, it can go very quickly."
What stands out most — beyond his calmness, beyond his humongous frame — is his incredible play since coming over from Sweden. There are plenty of goaltenders who struggle when they first come over, whether it be with the speed, the space out on the ice, or just the difference in lifestyle compared to Europe.
There are plenty of changes with how the game is played on both sides of the Atlantic ocean. The biggest difference, though, for Hildeby here, is how quickly the puck moves.
"Like, obviously the logical thing is that more pucks are thrown at the net. Sometimes that's the only option. Where in Sweden, where we have the bigger rinks, they can a lot of times just turn around and find a defenseman at the blue line. But here sometimes, the space just cuts down and you got to throw it at the net, create chaos.
"That's one thing and it tends to go very quickly with the boards, too, like it can bounce a lot and you've just got a big scoring opportunity straight away, basically. So, you got to be 100% focused, a little more obviously here (in North America)."
The ever-so-tall goaltender has been one of the AHL's best so far this season. He's sixth in the AHL for save percentage and is second among goaltenders in goals-against (1.89).
"He's on the right path and we're really fortunate to have him," Marlies head coach John Gruden said of Hildeby.
Looking at the season as a whole, though, what does Hildeby think of his own play? The one thing is, the 22-year-old rookie goaltender is only controlling what he can control.
"It's been good. I've had a good start I think. I've been feeling confident in net. Haven't got as many wins as I maybe wanted, but [I'm] just trying to focus on doing what I can and the wins will come, hopefully. So, it's been a good start."
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