Hildeby Is No Longer a Maple Leafs Project

The Flyers did get looks. Not a ton of east-west chaos, but enough broken plays and net-front traffic to test whether Hildeby would start chasing the game. He didn’t. On shots from the half wall, he held his depth instead of backing in. On point shots through traffic, he trusted his size and stayed tall. Pucks hit him and stayed hit.

Rebound control is often the giveaway with young goalies, especially once a game tightens. That’s when pucks start squeaking loose, sticks wave, and confidence wobbles. Hildeby didn’t give the Flyers much to work with. Shots into the chest stayed there. Low shots were steered to safe areas. When rebounds did pop out, they were predictable — not panic rebounds that turned into second chances.

The Maple Leafs Held Their Structure in Front of Hildeby

That mattered for the group in front of him. The Maple Leafs’ defence stayed structured. There was no frantic collapsing, no scrambling saves that energized the Flyers’ bench. The game felt controlled, and that calm filtered outward. Only the Maple Leafs’ lack of offence made the game iffy.

This wasn’t a night where Hildeby had to steal the game. There was no ten-minute stretch of chaos, no highlight-reel desperation save to stop the building. And that’s the compliment to the young Swedish goalie. He made the saves he was supposed to make. He erased mistakes quietly. He didn’t try to change the flow of the game. He simply managed it all around him. For a team trying to win tighter, playoff-style games, that has to matter far more than theatrics.

When the Flyers Scored in the Second Period, Back to Work

One thing stood out after the Flyers scored their lone goal. No visible frustration or exaggerated reset. He handed the puck to the official and went right back to his crease. No slumping posture. That might seem like a small detail, but small details stack up. Teammates must notice when a goalie doesn’t carry a mistake forward.

We saw the same thing from Joseph Woll on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers. They scored; he went back to work. Minor blip.

So, What Now with Hildeby?

This is where it gets interesting. Hildeby is still young and still developing, and performances like this create temptation. There’s an urge to “see what you’ve got” before you really need to, and run him back out there simply because he played so well. But there’s a fine line between development and exposure.

Right now, he looks like a goalie who benefits from intentional usage. Spot starts and, when possible, manageable matchups. Time to build confidence without being leaned on. He doesn’t look overwhelmed, but that doesn’t mean you rush the process. There’s value in letting a goalie win quietly instead of forcing him to prove something every night.

What Hildeby’s performance really does is give the Maple Leafs options. It gives the coaching staff confidence that if injuries hit or the schedule tightens, there’s a goalie who can step in without the game unravelling. It also raises a longer-term question about what kind of goalie pipeline this organization wants to build, since Hildeby no longer appears to be a project. He looks like a piece.

Hildeby Makes the Maple Leafs’ Future Decisions Harder

Hildeby’s performances in the crease are the kind that make future decisions harder and force the Maple Leafs to think more carefully. Right now, his game doesn’t force a move, but it does open the door a crack.

He’s earning trust. And for a young goalie looking to find his place in a crowded, high-pressure market, that might be the most important takeaway from his team’s 2-1 win over the Flyers last night.