{"id":337257,"date":"2025-12-09T13:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/337257\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T13:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T13:44:07","slug":"rookie-goaltender-dennis-hildeby-stepping-up-for-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/337257\/","title":{"rendered":"Rookie goaltender Dennis Hildeby stepping up for Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 Dennis Hildeby<\/a> is a goaltender of few words \u2014 very few words.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s in the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a>\u2019 locker room with teammates or when speaking in front of a wall of cameras and microphones to reporters, the soft-spoken Swede doesn\u2019t say a whole lot.<\/p>\n

Hildeby, however, has been making a loud statement on the ice.<\/p>\n

The hulking rookie with just a handful of NHL games under his belt before this season \u2014 and No. 4 on the depth chart at one point earlier in the fall \u2014 has stepped up in a big way for injury-hit Toronto.<\/p>\n

Hildeby was perfect in making 29 saves Monday to pick up his first NHL shutout in the Maple Leafs\u2019 hard-fought, grind-it-out 2-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pressed into service with both Anthony Stolarz<\/a> and Joseph Woll<\/a> out, Hildeby has given Toronto (14-11-4) solid performances under tough circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trying to enjoy it,\u201d said the six-foot-seven, 231-pound netminder. \u201cEasier said than done, but at the end of the day, it\u2019s what I\u2019ve been dreaming of since I started playing hockey. Just got to remind yourself of that and have a lot of fun \u2026 and just compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hildeby improved to 2-2-2 to go along with a sparkling .936 save percentage and 2.15 goals-against average across nine appearances in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s trusting his ability and his size and staying pretty calm and cool in net,\u201d Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube<\/a> said. \u201cHis puck play\u2019s been good, but overall his mindset is really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stolarz hasn\u2019t suited up since Nov. 11 because of an upper-body injury, while Woll left Thursday\u2019s game after two periods with a lower-body ailment. The latter isn\u2019t expected to be out of action long, but the crease is Hildeby\u2019s for now.<\/p>\n

Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly<\/a>, who scored the winner Monday, said composure and work ethic stand out as Hildeby \u2014 with six NHL games coming into training camp \u2014 quietly goes about his business.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a routine guy,\u201d Rielly said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a nice way about him. He\u2019s very focused. He\u2019s done a great job. We\u2019re very happy for him.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs have been much better defensively over the last stretch, including their current 4-0-1 run, by limiting the opposition\u2019s ability to get to the centre of the ice. That improved structure is no doubt significant, but Hildeby has also now stopped 107 of the last 110 shots he\u2019s faced.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust getting a little bit more comfortable,\u201d Toronto blueliner Jake McCabe<\/a> said. \u201cHe\u2019s been rock solid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hildeby saved the puck from his first clean sheet Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cFeels good,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s something you\u2019ll look back to (at) the end of your career, I guess. And I believe my father is very happy about that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

So was his dad, Tomas, watching back in Sweden given the time difference?<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably,\u201d Hildeby said with a smile. \u201cHe\u2019ll make it work.\u201d<\/p>\n

CLIMBING THE LADDER<\/p>\n

Rielly recorded the 16th game-opening goal of his career to move within one of Tim Horton<\/a> (17) for fourth place on the franchise\u2019s all-time list among defencemen. Borje Salming<\/a> (27), Bryan McCabe<\/a> (22) and Hap Day<\/a> (21) round out the top three.<\/p>\n

PONTUS HOMECOMING<\/p>\n

Lightning winger Pontus Holmberg<\/a>, who was drafted in the sixth round by the Leafs in 2018 and played 200 combined regular-season and playoff games for the club, suited up against Toronto for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that kid,\u201d Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said following his team\u2019s morning skate. \u201cHis strength on his skates (with) the puck \u2026 you can\u2019t take it from him. When you need to kill another team\u2019s momentum, just put it on his stick and he\u2019ll do it all by himself. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a competitor, he\u2019s big, he\u2019s strong and he\u2019s the foundation of a really good line for us that may not score every single night, but they can tilt the ice. He\u2019s a big part of it.\u201d <\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.<\/p>\n

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 Dennis Hildeby is a goaltender of few words \u2014 very few words. Whether it\u2019s in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-337257","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}