Report: Jets’ Hellebuyck making big time changes

The young goaltender has a new offseason strategy that he hopes will help him finally breakthrough at the NHL level.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Report: Jets’ Hellebuyck making big time changes
Keystone Press

When long-time Winnipeg Jets starting goaltender Ondrej Pavelec was waived and demoted to begin the 2016-17 NHL season, most Jets fans and analysts saw the move as a clear nod that youngster Connor Hellebuyck was now the man in Winnipeg.

Unfortunately, Hellebuyck struggled in his first full season as an NHL starter and had to concede the crease to Michael Hutchinson and Pavelec again, at different points of the season. The opportunity to be the starting goaltender still very much exists for Hellebuyck, but in order to give himself the best possible shot in 2017-18, he’s making some SERIOUS changes this offseason.

NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman reports that the 24 year-old goaltender has partnered with sports performance coach Adam Francilia in an effort to take his game to the next level. Francilia is well known in the hockey training industry for his work with goaltenders like Devan Dubnyk, James Reimer and Eddie Lack. Together with NHL agent Ray Petkau, Francilia operates the world famous NET360 goaltending clinic in Kelowna, BC and has been known as something of a “goalie whisperer” for years now.

Whether the changes have as big an impact on Hellebuyck’s game as he hopes remains to be seen, but as a Jets fan you have to love the initiative that the youngster is taking.