Connor Hellebuyck

Connor Hellebuyck grew up playing high school hockey in Commerce, Michigan, and was passed over in both the USHL and NAHL drafts at age 17. Rather than step away from the game, he made a decision, as he later described it, to make it work no matter what. He began dragging a friend to public skates every other day to work on his game independently, running his own drills without coaches, and sometimes just working on movement in the middle of the ice when he couldn't get a net. That self-directed preparation earned him an invitation to camp with the Odessa Jackalopes in the NAHL, and from there a path opened to NCAA hockey at UMass-Lowell ‘Over and Over and Over Again’.

Winnipeg selected Hellebuyck in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft, ninth pick of that round. He stands 6'4" and weighs 207 pounds, catches left, and wears number 37. Over a career that now spans 624 games, he has posted 345 wins, 207 losses, 55 overtime losses, a 2.58 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and 45 shutouts.

The Vezina Trophy came first in 2020, and Hellebuyck has described the moment Grant Fuhr called to inform him of the win as one he will always cherish. "It was just a phenomenal feeling and a great experience in how they did it," he said on Episode 86 of the InGoal Radio Podcast. "It was awesome talking with Grant. It's one of those moments that it's just going to add another milestone and I'm going to cherish the memory." ‘Over and Over and Over Again’

Since the Vezina shifted from a goals-against average award to recognizing the goaltender adjudged to be the best at his position 43 years ago, only 28 individuals have claimed it at least once. Hellebuyck won it a second time in 2024, placing him among just seven goalies to have won the award more than once. In 2025, he won it a third time, joining a group of four goalies to reach that threshold — Patrick Roy (3), Martin Brodeur (4), and Dominik Hasek (6). He also won the 2025 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, an award won by goaltenders only eight times in a century. Hellebuyck became the fourth goalie in the modern era and fifth overall to win both the Hart and the Vezina in the same season, joining Hasek, José Théodore, and Carey Price ‘Over and Over and Over Again’.

In 2026, Hellebuyck made his Olympic debut for the United States, making 17 saves in a 5-1 win over Latvia. He had spoken about that possibility years earlier. "If I got that call, I'd be honored to wear the flag and represent the flag," he said in 2020 ‘Over and Over and Over Again’.

Coming into the NHL, Hellebuyck had to make adjustments to his hand position, which had dropped too low for NHL shooters, and to incorporate RVH into his game. He has spoken candidly about how he approached those changes. "It all comes down to repetition: over and over and over again," he said. "And then you get the good part of playing games and testing it out and hopefully you figure it out quick." He also described a philosophy around adaptation that acknowledges limits: "Everything you add to your game is important. Not only that, sometimes you test things that don't work. That's important too. Don't fall into that trap. It's really just developing what you want to do and how you want to do it and what's going to give you the most success." ‘Over and Over and Over Again’

On skating as a foundation, Hellebuyck connected it directly to his ability to anticipate play. "It helps you get ahead of the game," he said. "And you could break that down so far, but at the end of the day, if your mind's ahead of the game and your feet can do what they need to do, you will get in the right position." ‘Over and Over and Over Again’

In October 2023, Hellebuyck signed a seven-year, $59.5 million extension with the Jets Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 4. Through 56 games of the 2025-26 season, he carries a record of 23 wins, 22 losses, and 11 overtime losses, a 2.80 goals-against average, and an .897 save percentage across 3,341:27 minutes of ice time, having faced 1,509 shots.

InGoal Magazine has covered Connor Hellebuyck in nine Pro Reads and one InGoal article. Much of that coverage centers on how Hellebuyck reads and anticipates play, particularly on odd-man rushes, a subject he has broken down in extensive video sessions with InGoal. In his first Pro Reads session, Hellebuyck described how early he identifies shooting versus passing threats on a 2-on-1, explaining his approach to reading puck placement, body position, and shooter tendencies Connor Hellebuyck ProRead. Across subsequent sessions, he walked through 2-on-1 rushes against Detroit Connor Hellebuyck ProRead 2 and Nashville Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 3, a 2-on-1 against the Rangers Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 4, an in-zone power play screen against Minnesota Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 5, a 3-on-3 that became a breakaway against Calgary Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 6, a 3-on-2 against Toronto Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 7, and a 5-on-3 against Dallas Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 8.

On reading an impending pass or shot, Hellebuyck has described watching for what he called "a passing scenario" — the stick opening up, the elbow coming out. "Not once does he put it into a passing scenario," he said of one rush Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 3. On patience in the crease during power plays, he described holding a side as long as possible before committing: "You've got to hold one side as long as you possibly can then when the screen comes across, you've got to switch as fast as possible." Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 5 On the mechanics of reading a shot release, he framed much of it as instinct built through repetition: "If you try to react to every single puck you are going to be a little bit behind, but if you try to guess before your reaction it at least gives you a head start on it." Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads 3

In 2025, InGoal combined all eight of Hellebuyck's video breakdowns into a single extended session to mark his second consecutive — and third overall — Vezina Trophy win and his Hart Trophy Connor Hellebuyck Pro Reads Compilation. Former Jets teammates Eric Comrie and Laurent Brossoit had both predicted Hellebuyck would be well-suited to the Pro Reads format, citing his ability to read the game Connor Hellebuyck ProRead.