Ullmark won the Vezina, which is awarded to the League’s best goaltender, in 2022-23, when he was 40-6-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and two shutouts in 49 games (48 starts) with the Bruins.
A sixth-round pick (No. 163) by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2012 NHL Draft, Ullmark is 150-82-25 with a 2.51 GAA, .918 save percentage and 11 shutouts in 272 games (262 starts) for the Sabres, Bruins and Senators.
“I’m so happy he was able to come back in time,” defenseman Victor Hedman said. “We played him his first game back and he looked phenomenal. Then I know he played in Florida and faced 47 shots. So, he’s had his workload, that’s for sure.”
“Obviously, feel bad for Jacob not being here, but to have (him and) Sammi, who’s been phenomenal for (Philadelphia) the whole season, yeah, you look at our roster from goalies to forwards, it’s just tremendous to see how much talent we have.”
Ullmark was injured in the first period of a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 22. Despite the recovery process, Ullmark said he always expected to be ready for 4 Nations.
“It was a long time until we came here today so we worked. We didn’t stress, we didn’t feel like we had to rush through the process to get me to be a part of this team,” he said. “Once we kind of settled in and talked it over and had communication throughout this whole process, I never felt I was stressed about it or concerned that I wasn’t going to be a part of it. So, I was pretty cool, calm and collected throughout the process.”
That cool, calm and collected demeanor of Ullmark’s will come in handy during the tournament. Ullmark doesn’t know if he’s starting on Wednesday against Canada, but if he is, “it would be a huge honor.”
“I know a couple of guys on the other teams and playing best-on-best hockey isn’t something you get to do every single day or even every single year,” he said. “For me, it’s going to be a lot of fun, but for me also, I try to keep myself here and now and don’t think too far ahead.”
