Although it seems like Dennis Hildeby might have a bright future at the NHL level, it’s not what he’s thinking about ahead of his second pro season in North America.
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The 23-year-old goaltending prospect had an incredible debut season in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies. 41 games played, a .913 save percentage, a Marlies-record 21 wins as a rookie goaltender, and an AHL All-Star nod.
It was a massive year for Hildeby — one that he hopes to build off of this season.
“I expect only the best for me, to do the best every day, take one day at a time. A lot of mentality, just staying balanced and trying to enjoy myself,” the netminder said when asked about his expectations for this season.
“I think that’s the best recipe for success. Whatever happens, it’s very hard to predict, but I think if I do all the things I should do and I do them as good as I can, things can turn out well. That’s the plan.”
Standing at 6-foot-7, Hildeby takes up most of the net already. However, he also said that one of his goals is to add more muscle, which should help in other areas of his game.
Hildeby has also worked a lot this summer on preventing injuries during the season and trying to add more speed in the net.
“Off ice, I like where my physical abilities are. I’ve been working a lot with maintaining that and a lot of prehab, strengthening up joints and trying to prevent injuries in the future,” Hildeby said.
“On ice, a lot of pushing my pace, doing everything quicker, under control of course, but just focusing on that speed all the time and getting faster. A lot of focus on rotations too, just a couple of technical stuff I think will help.”
Toronto is loaded with goaltenders this season. In the NHL, you’ll likely see Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz — barring any injuries — take the reigns. With the Marlies in the AHL, it’ll likely be Hildeby, Matt Murray, and potentially one, or both of, Artur Akhtyamov and Vyacheslav Peksa.
It’s possible that if one of Woll or Stolarz goes down with an injury, Hildeby is the first choice to be brought up to the NHL level. Hildeby already had one stint with the Maple Leafs last season, though he didn’t make his…