"The rise of Dennis Hildeby Up until now, the Maple Leafs have been taking a "proceed with caution" approach with Dennis Hildeby. That's not a bad thing given his rocky introduction to the NHL during the 2024-25 season and generally the approach you'd expect any organization to take with a 24-year-old goaltender. He's still a year away from sink or swim time, but circumstances may now be moving that up."
"Last season, Hildeby found his way into six games, all starts and all games that he'd play in their entirety. Two of those you could call good starts, and a third was an outing you'd accept from your backup netminder, but the other three appearances, especially the two against the Blue Jackets, showed a goaltender who needed more time before returning the NHL. Hildeby's time in the AHL didn't make his case for pushing for the NHL this season, and seemingly the Leafs didn't need him to be pushing. Until now."
"Circumstances have made Hildeby "the guy" at the moment and called for him being used earlier than expected this season. Woll's leave of absence combined with Cayden Primeau not being capable of the backup role brought him to the NHL, and Stolarz' injury has kept him here. Hildeby's five starts and .890 save percentage on the Marlies should demonstrate there wasn't any rush on the Maple Leafs side of things to get him to the NHL, but what he's done with the Maple Leafs is encouraging."
The Maple Leafs sit two points back of the final Atlantic Division playoff spot, easing immediate calls for a major roster teardown. Dennis Hildeby has been brought into a larger NHL role earlier than planned after Woll's leave, Cayden Primeau's inability in the backup role, and Stolarz' injury. Hildeby had mixed results in six NHL starts last season and posted a .890 save percentage across five AHL starts this year, but his recent NHL relief appearances and heavy-shot starts have shown encouraging signs despite some rough outings.
Read at TheLeafsNation
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