U.S. general manager Bill Guerin, who has until late December/early January to submit the U.S. roster, said nothing has been decided as far as who the goalies will be and who will be the starter.

“When we pick the team and we pick the goalies, you know, who’s going to get the nod and all that stuff, that will come when we get there (Milan),” Guerin said. “We’ll see who’s playing at their best. We’ll see who’s hot. That’s another tough decision. You don’t need to ‘We got to keep him happy.’ No, we’re trying to win and everybody has to buy into that.”

Hellebuyck, Oettinger and Swayman certainly have, pushing the others to be great while sharing tips and information along the way.

“We need to be able to bounce ideas off each other,” Hellebuyck said. “And no one really understands goaltending, unless you’re a goaltender or in that world, so having a good relationship with each other is kind of crucial to the success of the team.

“And I mean, they’re great guys, and I get along with them great. And any time I can bounce things off their head, or vice versa, we do. And you know, that’s it just makes the goalie union so fun to be part of.”

Said Swayman: “I’m always asking them what they’ve been doing, how they’ve been critiquing their game, getting better. And we’ve really been able to bump ideas and obviously raise our level and play, you know, with each other, and that’s something that we’re really excited about and understand.”

* * * * *

Though all three appear to be on the road to Milan as the top three goalies for the U.S., they took different trajectories to get to this point.

Hellebuyck could be one of the biggest underdog stories in NHL history. The Commerce Township, Michigan, native was not on NHL Central Scouting’s list of the top 36 North American goalies eligible for the 2012 NHL Draft. After 129 other players — including 12 other goalies — heard their names called, Hellebuyck was selected by the Jets in the fifth round.

He played for two seasons at UMass-Lowell in Hockey East and then made 26 starts as a rookie for the Jets in 2015-16. It’s been his net ever since, going 322-185-44 with a 2.56 GAA, .918 save percentage and 45 shutouts. He has won the Vezina Trophy three times and already is ranked fifth in all-time wins for U.S.-born goalies, 82 behind leader Jonathan Quick, now of the New York Rangers. He played two games for the U.S. at the 2017 World Championships.

Oettinger was much more heralded coming into the NHL. He was selected by Dallas with the No. 26 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, following his freshman season at Boston University. He played two more seasons at BU before signing with the Stars on March 25, 2019. From Lakeville, Minnesota, he played two seasons with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program before going to BU. He was a member of the U.S. team that won gold at the 2017 World Junior Championships and the 2021 U.S. team that took bronze at the World Championships.

In five seasons with Dallas, the 26-year-old is 149-66-27 with a 2.52 GAA, a .912 save percentage and 12 shutouts, and has helped the Stars reach the Western Conference Final in each of the past three seasons.