Swayman's confidence has played a big role in how he has so far handled the inherent challenges that come with having success early in his NHL career.
"Pressure makes diamonds," Swayman said. "That's what I love about it."
The Bruins' 23-year-old rookie goalie joined co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast this week. Among a number of topics in the 12-minute interview was Swayman's internal belief that he belongs in the NHL.
Swayman said he once told Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and coach Bruce Cassidy, "I will win games for you," the same thing he used to tell coaches throughout his youth career growing up in Alaska and in college at the University of Maine.
"It's a little different saying it to those big dogs but it's also awesome to have that confidence in myself and ensure they have that confidence in me too," Swayman said. "Obviously, I want my play to do the talking. It's been funny to see these coaches come out and say, 'Hey, he told me the same thing.' It's kind of funny, but I think that's an important thing for me personally to get that out there and make everyone know in this organization that all I want to do is help this team win games."
Swayman is 9-7-3 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in 20 games this season.
Rosen and Roarke discussed the Pacific Division race, focusing on center Jack Eichel's debut with the Vegas Golden Knights in a 2-0 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, the Calgary Flames' eight-game winning streak and the Edmonton Oilers, who are 8-2-1 in their past 11 games.
They also talked about the women's Olympic gold-medal game, a 3-2 win for Canada against the United States, and what that rivalry means to the sport.
In addition, they discussed the upcoming 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game between the Nashville Predators and Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Feb. 26 (7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, SN360, TVAS2, NHL LIVE).
The NHL @TheRink podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
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Listen: New episode of NHL @TheRink
