Instead, it was Hildeby who unexpectedly rained on Keefe’s parade with a solid 23-save performance that left the capacity crowd of 16,764 at Prudential Center disappointed in New Jersey’s home opener.
Hildeby had served as a backup on several occasions last season while Keefe was still in charge but had never played in an NHL game. In fact, what Keefe remembered most about the 6-foot-7 goalie was what the scouts were saying about him prior to the 2022 NHL Draft.
“I was in their meetings and watched a few clips of him with them,” Keefe said. “They were excited about him, and they were even more excited when he was still available and we took him.”
The Maple Leafs selected the kid from Järfälla, Sweden, in the fourth round (No. 122) that year, then watched him progress. In 41 games with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League last season, he went 21-11-7 with a 2.41 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.
When No. 1 goalie Joseph Woll complained of lower-body tightness after practice on Tuesday, Hildeby was called up on an emergency basis to back up Anthony Stolarz, who started the Maple Leafs' season-opening 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.
On Thursday, it was time for Hildeby to make his NHL debut. He said he only texted his euphoric parents over in Sweden rather than talk to them because it would have “messed up my head.”
Judging by his performance, his plan worked.
“Honestly, there were a lot of emotions for me to handle,” Hildeby said about being told on Wednesday that he’d be starting. “Try to make it just another game and enjoy it as much as possible. But it was a little back and forth trying to handle it, not getting too emotional.”
His teammates certainly were when discussing his performance. Forward Steven Lorentz took it one step further, referring to his towering teammate as “The Beast.”
Keefe had a slightly different take on the goalie.
“Big guy,” he said. “The puck hits him a lot. An awful lot.”
It certainly did on this night, much to Keefe’s chagrin. As for facing his former team for the first time, one thing stood out for him.
“No emotions for me in the game,” Keefe said. “It’s a little odd standing back there and the colors. I’m still adjusting to the red, and the blue-and-white is back again.
“We are just trying to build our game. The opponent had a big say in the game tonight but that was nowhere good enough.”
Perhaps the most frustrating part, the Devils held Matthews, Marner and William Nylander off the score sheet and still lost, spoiling Keefe’s night.
“I think we wanted that for him and it hurts even more not to be able to do it,” Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton said.
Especially when a kid making his NHL debut proved to be the spoiler.
