While Jack Hughes scored the winner in overtime, Connor Hellebuyck’s 41 saves ensured that the United States Men’s Ice Hockey team claimed their third Olympic gold medal for men’s hockey. It came after a thrilling victory over Canada, their first in three Olympic final meetings against their rivals. At the heart of it was Hellebuyck, and a former teacher who’s been quietly cheering him on for decades.

A teacher for over 40 years, Nick Conti taught at Walled Lake in Michigan and taught the young Connor Hellebuyck in 2011. Since then, Conti has followed the NHL goaltender’s career carefully over the years and revealed that he remembers him well.

“It was thrilling in large part because I remembered him (Hellebuyck) as such a good kid. So, it’s easy to cheer for him,” Conti told Local 4 News.

Conti first encountered Connor Hellebuyck during a team sports class. And as the teacher put it, he planned to rotate the class through several team sports. But the NHL goaltender had other ideas, as Hellebuyck requested that Conti let the boys play only floor hockey. It took some convincing, Conti admits, but he eventually granted Hellebuyck’s request, and the rest is now Olympic history.

And fittingly, the former high-school teacher also opened up about the role the then-high-school senior played. But as it turns out, the reigning NHL MVP and Venezia Trophy winner only played one position the entire semester.

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“The funny thing about the whole thing … Connor played one position, and one position only, for the entire semester,” Conti explained. “He got a baseball glove and was working on his goalie gyrations playing floor hockey.”

His time as a floor hockey goalie clearly worked, judging by his career. And nearly 15 years later, everyone praised Connor Hellebuyck’s performance in Team USA’s final, from fellow athletes to politicians. Including the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth:

“Now we have a Secretary of War…and a Secretary of Defense!” Hegseth said, reacting to a viral post celebrating the goaltender’s heroics.

It might have sounded a bit over the top, but after a night like that, the comment actually fit the mood. Connor Hellebuyck was putting on a masterclass that hockey fans will talk about for decades. The 2026 Winter Olympics final turned into his stage.

In the 2-1 overtime thriller against Canada, Connor Hellebuyck stopped an incredible 41 shots. Every save felt heavier than the last as Canada threw everything they had his way. Through all the chaos, he stayed ice-cold and locked in, finishing the night as the undisputed backbone of Team USA’s golden moment.

He thrived in the preliminary rounds, leading the tournament with a .952 save percentage. Not only that, but he also stopped all but two shots (40 of the 42) in his two group games.

Things only improved from there for the NHL star. So much so that he ended the Winter Olympics with the best save percentage in the tournament (95.62). Earning him a well-deserved pat on the back from his teammate.

Matthew Tkachuk praises Connor Hellebuyck’s Olympic final performance

But it was likely teammate Matthew Tkachuk’s praise that stands out. The Florida Panthers’ left winger compared Hellebuyck’s performance to Jim Craig’s. The iconic goaltender faced 39 shots for Team USA at the 1980 Winter Olympics as the Americans beat the Soviet Union 4-3. Now known as “Miracle On Ice,” it was the last time the USA won the gold medal for men’s ice hockey.

“It’s going to go down as one of the best performances of all time — it has to,” Matthew Tkachuk said, as per ESPN. “Right up there with Jimmy Craig [in 1980], all the great United States goaltenders. In the NHL, whatever type of hockey, whatever goaltending performance you want to talk about, that’s right up there.”

It was indeed an incredible performance by Hellebuyck, as he passed Ryan Miller (36 in 2010) for the most saves in a gold medal game with NHL players in the final. And to cap it all off, for his efforts in the tournament, he took home Best Goaltender and was also ‌part of the Media All-Star Team alongside USA defender Quinn Hughes.

With the Winter Olympics now over, the question remains: can Connor Hellebuyck carry that form into the NHL for the Winnipeg Jets? Only time will tell.