Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman have fun while waiting to find out who'll start the first game at the 2026 Olympics.
MILAN — Jake Oettinger is having a blast rooming with Jeremy Swayman and playing cribbage. Of course, there's a different kind of game both hope to play during their two weeks in Italy.
U.S. men's hockey coach Mike Sullivan won't say who will be in net when the Americans play their first match at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 12 against Group C cohort Latvia. But it was Connor Hellebuyck who spent all of Monday's practice at Santagiulia Hockey Arena in one net while Oettinger and Swayman split the other one.
It's a sign, but not a certainty, and reflects the depth from which Sullivan will choose: Hellebuyck is the NHL's reigning MVP, Oettinger has the most playoff experience and Swayman the best save percentage of the three.
"There's lots of things that weigh into it," Sullivan said. "I'm not going to sit here and share the internal conversations we have and how we make lineup decisions, but what I will tell you is that we feel like regardless of which guy we put in net, we have three elite goaltenders, all of which will give us an opportunity to win.
"That we know. So we'll do our best to make the best decisions for the team, and that's the discussion we have with our goaltenders. That's how we'll go about our business."
Sullivan's Canadian counterpart, Jon Cooper, has kept mum about his starter too, but Jordan Binnington projects to have the edge on Darcy Kuemper and Logan Thompson, having been Canada's starter at last year's 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Cooper disputed the notion that Canada's depth in net isn't as strong as the Americans.
"Has Canada had a string of goaltenders that have been exceptional, Hall of Famers? They have," he said. "Have they been a part of this tournament and won? They have. To me, Carey Price goes down as one of the greatest goalies of his generation and of all time. He was a winner. We have those guys. Some of these guys may not go down as generational goaltenders, but they're Stanley Cup winners. They have championship pedigree. They've made the big saves at the times they've needed to.
"I watched that in Darcy Kuemper in my own building in Tampa. I watched it in Jordan Binnington. I've watched Logan Thompson the last two years. They're as good as anybody, and what they've done for us not only last year but as teammates - I mean we have all the faith in the world in them."
Hellebuyck started three of the Americans' games at 4 Nations, and Oettinger the other. Swayman comes into these games with a .903 save percentage in 38 games, higher than Hellebuyck (.900 in 36 games) and Oettinger (.897 in 37 games).
Dylan Larkin said he wasn't curious who'll be starting against Latvia, because, "we have three unbelievable goalies there."
Hellebuyck pointed out that, "we'll know soon enough," who is starting. "We all get along great. Like right from day one I think we all connected on the same level. They’re fun to be around.
“I just think this tournament is going to be fun. Everyone is going to give it their all.”
The three have been one another's biggest fans in the two practices, and all stressed the camaraderie aspect of their relationship.
"It's wonderful," Swayman said. "It's an incredible trio that I'm so grateful to be a part of. Just getting to learn from these guys every day and compete with them and bond with them off the ice, it's a real pleasure."
Oettinger said, "It's a great group of guys to be around and fun to learn from them and see what makes them so good. I think all three of us are just, whoever gets their number called has got to be ready to go."
In the meantime, there's life in the Athletes Village to enjoy. Swayman, Oettinger said, "is the best. He's my roommate, so we have a blast. We're already were very close and now we're sleeping 6 inches from each other, so it's really fun."
The two enjoy cribbage, but, "I had a nice lead and then I got skunked," Oettinger said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US Olympic goalies stay busy as Mike Sullivan stays mum on starter
Category: General Sports
