Hellebuyck gets call for Team USA Olympic opener

MILAN -- Connor Hellebuyck will get the first crack in goal for Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Coach Mike Sullivan said Hellebuyck will start against Team Latvia at Santagiulia Arena on Thursday (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI TOU.TV, CBC Gem, SN, RDS) in the first of three preliminary round games for each team.

The 32-year-old is not having his best season. He's 13-16-7 with a 2.79 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 36 games for the Winnipeg Jets.

But last season, he was voted the winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goalie for the third time and the Hart Trophy as the League's most valuable player.

He was the No. 1 goalie for the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, going 2-1-0 with a 1.59 GAA and .932 save percentage. The United States went to overtime of the championship game before losing to Canada 3-2.

"He's obviously an elite goalie," Sullivan said. "We think we have three elite goalies. We have ultimate confidence in all three guys. These decisions aren't easy, but we made a decision to start with Connor, and we'll go from there."

Team USA has back-to-back games coming up, facing Team Denmark on Saturday and Germany on Sunday to round out Group C play.

How will the Americans use Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger?

Oettinger is 23-10-4 with a 2.73 GAA and an .897 save percentage in 37 games for the Dallas Stars this season, tied with Brandon Bussi of the Carolina Hurricanes for the most wins among U.S.-born goalies.

Swayman is 22-12-3 with a 2.92 GAA and .903 save percentage in 38 games for the Boston Bruins.

"We start right away playing three games in four nights," Sullivan said. "It's a lot of hockey. It's a condensed schedule when you look at it from a 40,000-foot view, which we have. We have a game plan on how we're going to go about it. That's not to say that things won't change depending on how the team plays, how people play, things of that nature."

The preliminary round will determine who starts when the tournament shifts to single elimination.

"This is just based on my own experience," Sullivan said. "In tournaments like this where things happen fast, they're not very long, that performance really matters. And so, we're going to try to make decisions with every position that gives us the best chance to win."

U.S. defenseman Jaccob Slavin plays for the Carolina Hurricanes and doesn't see Hellebuyck often in the NHL. But he said there is familiarity from 4 Nations. Of the 25 players on the U.S. Olympic roster, 21 played in that tournament.

"He's great at playing the puck, and so [he] helps break the puck out a lot," Slavin said. "He's solid back there, so definitely have that [comfort level] with him."