Spencer Knight doesn't concern himself with personal statistics or comparisons to other players, past or present, at his position.
The 19-year-old, who is the No. 1 goalie for the United States in the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, is only focused on one thing.
"It's more just wins and losses for me," said Knight, who was selected by the Florida Panthers with the No. 13 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. ""I stopped looking at my numbers. ... I don't look at my save percentage and I don't really care how many shots I face in the game anymore. I'm not too caught up on if I give up a lot of goals anymore, either.
"I think taking that approach ultimately makes the season more enjoyable and it also makes it more about the team, which I think is so important."
Knight's approach has paid off so far at Boston College. As a freshman last season, he was a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, given to the top NCAA goalie, after finishing 23-8-2 with a 1.97 goals-against average (ninth in NCAA), .931 save percentage (tied for ninth) and five shutouts (tied for third). He's off to an even better start as a sophomore, going 4-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA, .955 save percentage and two shutouts in his first four starts.
"My priority isn't to be the top goalie of the World Junior Championship, but to give the players on my team the best chance to win a game," Knight said. "I know it sounds cliché, but I've really become so focused on just writing my own story and just doing my own thing, what's best for me and not worrying about who's in the other net."
Knight will play a big part for the United States as it looks to rebound at the 2021 WJC. He had a 2.49 GAA and .913 save percentage in four games at the 2020 WJC, when the United States finished sixth, its worst finish since 2012 (seventh).
"[Knight] is just so good, so calm back there," United States forward Cole Caufield (Montreal Canadiens) said. "He's the last line of defense and is always going to bail us out, in my opinion. He's in his third year at the world juniors, so he knows what's at stake. I think going into it, he'll have a lot of confidence and be a lot more comfortable."
Here are four other goaltenders to watch at the 2021 WJC: