Connor Hellebuyck

Connor Hellebuyck
Born (1993-05-19) May 19, 1993
Commerce, MI USA
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
AHL team Manitoba Moose
National team  United States
NHL Draft 130th overall, 2012
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 2014present

Connor Charles Hellebuyck (born May 19, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing for the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Jets in the 5th round (130th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Amateur

After completing his high school career in Michigan, Hellebuyck played one year of junior hockey as a member of the Odessa Jackalopes, a franchise that had been a minor league affiliate of the New York Islanders but had recently moved to junior hockey as part of the North American Hockey League. Hellebuyck went from being virtually unknown to a top prospect while playing in Odessa, and was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets following his season in Odessa.

Hellebuyck earned a scholarship to play for the UMass Lowell River Hawks in the NCAA Men's Division I Hockey East Conference, where in two seasons he played 54 games and compiled a 38–12–2 record with a .946 save percentage, 1.60 goals against average, and 12 shutouts. He won the Hockey East Championship and made a Frozen Four appearance in his freshman year. Lowell would repeat as Hockey East Champions the following year and Hellebuyck became the only player in Hockey East history to be named tournament MVP twice. Following his second year, Hellebuyck's outstanding play was rewarded with a selection to the 2013–14 Hockey East First Team.[1]

For the 2013–14 season, Hellebuyck was awarded the inaugural Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in college hockey.[2] Hellebuyck departed UMass Lowell as the school's shutout leader with 12 shutouts in 54 games, surpassing current Nashville Predators and former UMass Lowell goaltender Carter Hutton. He also owns single-season records for best save percentage (.952) and GAA (1.37), both in 2012–13.[3]

Professional

Hellebuyck chose to forgo his final two years of college eligibility when he signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL) on April 5, 2014.[4] In the 2014–15 season, he played his first full professional season with the Jets' American Hockey League affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps and was selected to the 2015 AHL All-Star Game[5] serving as the Eastern Conference starter.[6] Hellebuyck was called up by the Jets late in the regular season to dress as the back-up goalie for one game.[7] On November 22, 2015 the Jets called up Hellebuyck, after Ondrej Pavelec was injured during a game against the Arizona Coyotes.[8] On November 27, 2015 Hellebuyck won his first NHL game, against the Minnesota Wild, then on December 27, Hellebuyck recorded his first NHL shutout in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

International play

Medal record
Competitor for  United States
Ice hockey
World Championships
2015 Czech Republic

Hellebuyck was chosen by the United States to play at the 2015 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.[9] Hellebuyck would backstop Team USA to a Bronze Medal in the tourney.[10] Hellebuyck posted a record of 7–1–0 with a pair of shutouts during his eight tournament games. He would also finish with a 1.37 goals-against average and a .948 saving percentage. His seven wins tied a U.S. record for most in a single tournament set in 1939.[11]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2011–12 Odessa Jackalopes NAHL 53 26 21 5 3085 128 3 2.49 .930 4 1 3 243 14 0 3.46
2012–13 UMass-Lowell HE 24 20 3 0 1397 32 6 1.37 .952
2013–14 UMass-Lowell HE 29 18 9 2 1747 52 6 1.79 .941
2014–15 St. John's IceCaps AHL 58 28 22 5 3332 143 6 2.58 .921
AHL totals 58 28 22 5 3332 143 6 2.58 .921

International

Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2015 United States WC 3rd 8 7 1 0 482 11 2 1.37 .948
Senior totals 8 7 1 0 482 11 2 1.37 .948

Awards and honours

Award Year
Hockey East All-Tournament Team 2013 [12]
All-Hockey East First Team 2013–14 [13]
AHCA East First-Team All-American 2013–14
Hockey East All-Tournament Team 2014 [12]
Mike Richter Award 2013–14 [14]
WC All-Star Team 2015 [15]

References

  1. "UMass Lowell – Connor Hellebuyck named First-Team Hockey East All-Star". University of Massachusetts Lowell.
  2. "UMass-Lowell's Connor Hellebuyck wins inaugural Mike Richter Award – NHL.com – On Campus". nhl.com. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
  3. "Connor Hellebuyck jets from UMass Lowell early". Mill City Sports. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  4. "Connor Hellebuyck jets from UMass Lowell early". Mill City Sports. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  5. "Connor Hellebuyck named a 2015 AHL Eastern Conference All-Star". Mill City Sports. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
  6. "Connor Hellebuyck starts for Eastern Conference in AHL All-Star Game". Mill City Sports. Retrieved 2015-01-29.
  7. "Jets call up goalie Hellebuyck from St. John's". Winnipeg Free Press. 2015-04-10.
  8. "Jets call up Hellebuyck after Pavelec injured by Doan hit". www.winnipegfreepress.com. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
  9. "Connor Hellebuyck selected to U.S. National team for Worlds". millcitysports.com. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-04-02.
  10. "USA wins bronze with shutout win over Czech Republic at World Championship". The Score. May 17, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  11. "Connor Hellebuyck, U.S. take home bronze at IIHF World Championships". Mill City Sports. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  12. 1 2 "2013–14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  13. "HockeyEastOnline.com – LEAGUE ANNOUNCES ALL-STAR TEAMS".
  14. "UMass-Lowell's Hellebuyck wins Mike Richter Award". nhl.com. April 11, 2014.
  15. http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/414/IHM414000_98_1_0.pdf

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Johnny Gaudreau
Hockey East Tournament MVP
2013, 2014
Succeeded by
Jack Eichel
Preceded by
Parker Milner
Hockey East Goaltending Champion
2012–13
Succeeded by
Thatcher Demko
Preceded by
Award Created
Mike Richter Award
2013–14
Succeeded by
Zane McIntyre
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