By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
Over the past 20 years, Hockey East has developed a strong track record of producing NHL-caliber goaltenders, ranging from backups and tandems to everyday starters, Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe winners, and, most recently, all three netminders for Team USA at 4Nations. The Boston Bruins are well acquainted with this talent pipeline through former and current goaltenders Tim Thomas (Vermont) and Jeremy Swayman (Maine), and have tapped into it once again with Providence College goaltender Philip Svedeback.
Svedeback, Boston’s fourth-round draft choice from 2021, is the latest in a decorated line of goaltending succession at Providence under Head Coach Nate Leaman. Several of the program’s most prominent and prolific netminders developed under his watch:
Jon Gillies finished in the top five in program history in every major goaltending category en route to a national championship in 2015, along with 35 career NHL games. Hayden Hawkey (yes, that is a real name) immediately followed and eclipsed Gillies in nearly every mark. He holds the program records for games played (125), wins (72), single-season shutouts (8), and career shutouts (16) after just three years as a starter. Jaxson Stauber bridged the gap between Hawkey and Svedeback with two strong years in Friartown and recorded his first NHL shutout with Utah this past season.
The young Swede assumed the starting role immediately upon arriving on campus in 2022 and already has 95 games of experience under his belt. He impressed right away with a 2.18 Goals Against Average (GAA) and 14 wins as a freshman, and was named to the Mike Richter Award Watchlist for Goaltender of the Year. Svedeback followed up his strong freshman campaign with 18 wins and four shutouts as a sophomore, but the Friars fell on the wrong side of the Pairwise bubble for an NCAA Tournament berth both years.
Svedeback’s junior season may not have been his best statistically, but it was one of his most successful. He split starts in goal for the first time with Merrimack transfer Zachary Borgiel, but fully reclaimed the net down the stretch, finally breaking through and leading the Friars to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2019. He finished the season matching his freshman total of 14 wins and setting a career best save percentage of .911. Svedeback was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award and earned Hockey East Goaltender of the Month for the first time after a perfect 4-0 December featuring three wins over ranked opponents.
Entering his senior year with a career 46-32-15 record, he’s within striking distance of Hawkey’s games played mark, and a strong final year could secure his position among the greatest goaltenders to ever play in Friartown. Svedeback’s 46 wins are fifth best in program history, four behind fourth place, and 14 behind Gillies for third. His career 2.29 GAA is also fifth all time, and his five career shutouts are tied for, you guessed it, fifth.
But for Bruins fans, the burning question isn’t about what he’ll do at Providence, it’s what he’s going to do after the season. Boston’s draft rights for Svedeback will expire after his senior year, and he’ll be free to look elsewhere should the Bruins not sign him before the deadline.
Given the state of the organization’s goaltending depth, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Boston signed Svedeback earlier this offseason to backfill the crease with both Michael DiPietro and Brandon Bussi on expiring contracts. Instead, the Bruins brought in Simon Zajicek from HC Litvinov in Czechia and Luke Cavallin from Trois-Rivieres in the ECHL, each on a one-year deal.
While both deals are short-term and still afford Boston the flexibility to sign Svedeback next spring, they also don’t give a clear indication of the organization’s confidence in the Providence goaltender. Making it even further complicated, there’s another Swedish netminder in Hockey East who the Bruins love, and will hit the open market around the same time.
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