“He’s been one of the premier goalies in the league. He’s very good at what he does and we’re obviously excited to have him as a part of our group,” said Sullivan.
“He carries himself with humility. He’s a hard worker. He’s invested in this endeavour with the U.S. team, and he exudes a quiet confidence about him. And you can tell by talking to him how important this event is, he really wants to win.”
Hellebuyck was asked about the Americans lack of success at best-on-best events in the past and if that gave him extra motivation heading into the 4 Nations.
“That’s a tough question. I feel like you just stabbed a dagger at us. We’re gonna use that,” said Hellebuyck.
“I think we should use that. I think our teams great, and I think everyone who put this team together, the whole organization, they all built this as a team that can win.”
Jets fans will be keeping an eye on another meeting between the two-time Vezina Trophy winner and former teammate Patrik Laine. The Finnish forward joked back in December that he hadn’t faced Hellebuyck since he was traded out of the Manitoba capital.
“The last two times I’ve been here, I don’t think he’s played,” said Laine a couple of months ago.
“He’s had the Patty flu.”
Hellebuyck ended up stopping Laine seven times in Winnipeg’s 4-2 win back on December 14.
American centre Jack Eichel has ran into Hellebuyck a lot lately since becoming part of the Golden Knights including in the opening round of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs.
“He’s confident, I think he believes in himself. He seems pretty even keel for the most part and I think a lot of those things bode well for goalies,” said Eichel.
“Obviously, just watching him in practice and his habits and the way he’s goes about things. We’re confident with all three of our goalies, obviously Helle is going to start tonight, and we feel great about that.”
The Americans also have to feel great about the star power that they have up and down their lineup. Eichel will be in the middle of Matthew Tkachuk and Kyle Connor on the top line and is looking forward to the opportunity to playing with the Jets sniper.
“I’ve seen him a lot the last few years. I have a great appreciation for his game. When you get on the ice and you watch him, I think the appreciation grows more,” said Eichel.
“His speed, his quickness, his creative play. For me, it’s great having a guy like that where you can get him the puck and he can make some things happen by himself. I look forward to playing with him and hopefully we can build some chemistry quickly.”
Connor and the Americans had an extra day of practice waiting for their first game of the tournament which should aid in building that chemistry that Eichel was referring too.
“It’s gotta be paramount to get some chemistry going right away. At the same time, their such good players that you can just read off them,” said Connor.
“And I think it will just come naturally, you don’t want to force it.”
The 28-year-old watched Canada beat the Swedes last night and anticipates another high event contest between his group and the feisty Finns.
“It’s going to be quick. You gotta come out strong, gotta make sure we’re ready to go here,” said Connor.
“We’ve had three days of practice. Obviously, you get the kinks out as much as you can but at the same time you never know what that first action is going to be like. We’ve all been through this situation before, these are big games, and you want to be in this situation. So, just lean into what makes you good as a player.”
