Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is the man of the moment – in Washington DC and all over the United States.
Hellebuyck was instrumental in Team USA’s men’s ice hockey gold-medal winning performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics, making 41 saves in the gold-medal game against Canada, a 2-1 victory sealed by Canton native Jack Hughes’ overtime goal.
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But it was Hellebuyck, the defending Hart Trophy winner (NHL MVP), who was the team’s most outstanding player in the game against loaded Canada and throughout the tournament.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: Matt Boldy #12 of Team United States scores a goal past Jordan Binnington #50 of Team Canada in the first period during the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: Matt Boldy #12 of Team United States scores a goal past Jordan Binnington #50 of Team Canada in the first period during the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Team USA’s Matt Boldy celebrates scoring the first goal of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics men’s hockey gold medal game against Canada.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Matt Boldy #12 of Team United States celebrates with teammate Brock Faber #14 after scoring a goal in the first period during the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Fans of Team United States show their support in the first period during the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
USA’s #12 Matt Boldy (C) scores the opening goal during the men’s gold medal ice hockey match between Canada and USA at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on February 22, 2026. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Image was captured using a remote camera positioned above the field of play.) Matt Boldy #12 of Team United States celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal in the first period during the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
USA’s #12 Matt Boldy (C) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the men’s gold medal ice hockey match between Canada and USA at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on February 22, 2026. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Matt Boldy of Team United States celebrates after scoring a goal in the first period during the gold medal game between Canada and the United States on Day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
USA’s players celebrate after USA’s #12 Matt Boldy scored their first goal during the men’s gold medal ice hockey match between Canada and USA at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on February 22, 2026. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP via Getty Images)
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 22: Matt Boldy #12 of Team United States celebrates after scoring a goal in the first period during the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Team USA’s Matt Boldy breaks away from Canada’s Devon Toews on his way to scoring the first goal of the gold medal game Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck, center Dylan Larkin (21) and defenseman Noah Hanifin of Team USA defend the net in the first period during the gold medal game against Canada on Day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Zach Werenski of the United States is separated from Bo Horvat of Canada during the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Fans of Team United States hold up signs prior to the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Connor Hellebuyck #37 of Team United States and Jordan Binnington #50 of Team Canada are seen during the warm up prior to the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Auston Matthews of the United States greets fans before playing against Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
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USA vs Canada men’s hockey in gold medal game of 2026 Winter Olympics
Fans of Team Canada look on prior to the Men’s Gold Medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Feb. 22, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
While attending President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night along with fellow members of the U.S. men’s hockey team, Hellebuyck also learned he would get another award – the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. He is the first professional hockey player to ever receive the award, and the first U.S.-born athlete since Magic Johnson received the honor in 2025.
Here are five other things to know about Hellebuyck.
GOLD MITTENS: All 4 USA hockey players on ice for winning goal were Michiganders
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Connor Hellebuyck grew up in Michigan
Commerce Township’s Connor Hellebuyck, goalie for the United States, refreshes himself during the IIHF World Championship match against Slovakia on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Hellebuyck grew up in Commerce Township in metro Detroit, where his dad, Chuck, once watched a 4-year-old Hellebuyck pretend to play as a goalie while watching Detroit Red Wings games.
“He was watching the puck, he wasn’t watching the goalie. He was playing the game in his mind and he was watching the puck. And I’m like, holy cow, this kid really is a goalie,” he said in a 2017 CBC article.
Hellebuyck played at Walled Lake Northern High School in Commerce Township, but didn’t get much attention from colleges. Still, he kept on plucking away in the net before eventually earning his shot.
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Connor Hellebuyck was the nation’s top college hockey goalie
After playing one season of junior hockey after high school, Hellebuyck attended UMass Lowell, the only school that offered him a full scholarship. But Hellebuyck quickly gained notoriety, and in the 2013-14 season (his second with the River Hawks) earned the Mike Richter Award as college hockey’s top goaltender.
Hellebucyk left for the Winnipeg Jets, who drafted him 130th overall (fifth round) in the 2012 NHL Draft, after his sophomore season in college. But more than 10 years after he left, he still owns the school record for career save percentage (.946), and helped bring the River Hawks to their only Division 1 Frozen Four appearance (2013).
Connor Hellebuyck is the defending Hart Trophy winner
Detroit Red Wings forward J.T. Compher (37) and Winnipeg Jets forward Alex Iafallo (9) with goalie Connor Hellebuyck (37) look for the puck during the first period at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.
Eleven years into his NHL career, all spent with the Jets, Hellebucyk is considered to be the best goalie in the league, and probably on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
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Hellebucyk has been awarded the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie on three occasions: for the 2019-2020, 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. He is one of only 13 goalies all time to win the award at least three times, and a fourth would put him in an elite company of nine.
An even rarer feat: Hellebuyck won the Hart Trophy as the NHL MVP for the 2024-25 season, becoming the first goalie to win the award since Montreal’s Carey Price won it a decade before and just the eighth goalie ever to win it.
How Connor Hellebuyck ‘almost died’
Connor Hellebuyck (37) of the United States celebrates after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.
Hellebuyck had emergency surgery to remove his spleen before starting his college career, telling SportsNet’s Kristina Rutherford that he “lost two pints of blood and almost died.”
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Hellebuyck says he still has health issues as a result of his missing spleen, but it doesn’t appear to have affected his performance on the ice too much.
Connor Hellebuyck’s dad is a YouTuber
Hellebuyck’s parents have found success in creative fields, with his mother, Erin, an accomplished children’s book author, and his dad, Chuck an electrical engineer and former stock car-racing hobbyist.
But maybe most impressive is Chuck’s YouTube channel (@FilamentFriday), dedicated to videos on 3D printing and design help. The channel is 11 years old, still active and boasts more than 300,000 subscribers, making Chunk arguably the most famous Hellebuyck in the family (at least in some circles).
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Connor Hellebucyk ‘almost died’ once, dad has popular YouTube channel