The Leafs will unleash the 'Hildebeast' after a strong pre-season in the face of an injury to Joseph Woll.
Swedish goaltending prospect Dennis Hildeby will make his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs when they visit the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube confirmed the decision on Thursday during his pre-game media availability.
Anthony Stolarz — who made the surprise start on Wednesday on a 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens — did not take the ice this morning while Hildeby got in some work with goaltending coach Curtis Sanford. There was some thought that the Leafs may go with Stolarz again in net as Joseph Woll is out with "lower-body tightness".
"Stolarz played last night and with Woll being out right now, I didn't figure I'd come back to Stolarz tonight," Berube said
When asked why Matt Murray wasn't called up for the team's trip to serve as the club's No. 3 goaltending option, Berube said it was a management decision.
Hildeby — Toronto's fourth-round pick (122nd overall) in the 2022 NHL draft — had a .947 save percentage in two pre-season games. The goaltender was up with the Maple Leafs for a long stretch last season in January when Ilya Samsonov struggled and Woll was out with a high-ankle sprain, but the Leafs elected not to start the goalie. During instances of back-to-back games, while they were on the road in California, the Leafs went with Martin Jones in the net on consecutive nights in games against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
"He's a huge guy. He's older than his experience would say in North America, but he's had some experience in Europe," Keefe said about his time with Hildeby last season while coaching with the Leafs. "Tremendous year last year as a first year in North America. And it seems like he's had a good preseason."
The 6-foot-7 goaltender posted a 21-11-7 record with a .913 save percentage while with the Toronto Marlies last season.
"He's had some experience, not a lot, but again he's going to go and do his job and play the game," Berube said of Hildeby.
The Maple Leafs will make one change up front with Bobby McMann coming into the lineup for Ryan Reaves.
