Toronto Maple Leafs' Dennis Hildeby garnering high praise from teammates and head coach Craig Berube
The Toronto Maple Leafs may have a diamond in their system with goaltender Dennis Hildeby, who has earned some high praise from teammates and coach Craig Berube.
Hildeby, whom the Maple Leafs drafted in the 4th round in 2022 is a massive netminder standing 6'7 and weighing over 220 pounds. Hildeby already has his named etched in Maple Leafs history being the first goaltender in franchise history to wear #41, and now he's trying to earn a spot and make an impact for the Maple Leafs in the near future.
That future may not be too far away if Hildeby continues the way he's played, and he's beginning to turn a lot of heads in camp earning praise from not only his teammates but from the new bench boss of the Maple Leafs:
This echoes something that Hildeby worked on since coming over to North America, something he something he talked about last December:
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)."
It's not hard to see why he's earning the praise of Berube, especially since he's come into the preseason and made absurd saves such as this:
But not only does Hildeby do this in the preseason, but on a regular basis for the Marlies:
Hildeby has been incredibly solid for the Marlies since coming being drafted in 2022, putting up a 21-12-7 record with a 2.51 GAA and .910 save percentage and it seems like head coach Craig Berube likes what he sees from Hildeby and has enough faith in the Swede to play the entirety of their preseason game against Montreal. He could definitely find himself fighting for backup minutes if Joseph Woll or Anthony Stolarz goes down with injuries even if Toronto also has Matt Murray in tow; he could play himself into a callup.
The man known as the 'Hildebeast' has certainly put on a good showing for his teammates and coach thus far in the preseason and although it may not translate into a job on the main squad right away, the team will have little hope in denying their Scandinavian giant a chance to lead the Maple Leafs into battle.
