After finding himself in the American Hockey League to end last season, goaltender Devan Dubnyk was barely on the radar. This past summer, the Arizona Coyotes took a chance on Dubnyk by signing him to be the backup behind Mike Smith. But something else happened instead, Dubnyk outplayed Smith to the point where the tanking Coyotes decided to trade Dubnyk to the Wild for a third round pick.
Since arriving in Minnesota, Dubnyk has made 27 consecutive starts for the Wild and has backstopped them to a wild card spot. Earlier this season, the Wild were struggling big time and their goaltending was a big reason for that. Josh Harding hurt himself before the start of the season in an accident, was subsequently suspended by the Wild, and is currently in the AHL. Darcy Kuemper was expected to take the reins but he didn’t step up and neither did veteran Niklas Backstrom.
Dubnyk has stepped in and infused confidence in his new team by playing saviour-like hockey. With his performance, he has potentially earned himself a Vezina nomination. With Carey Price and Pekka Rinne more or less cemented as the other two nominees, Dubnyk’s performance has been incredible. Other goalies have had good seasons or have played more games, but Dubnyk has dragged the Wild to the position they are in now and deserves to be recognized.
Throughout Dubnyk’s career, he has always been about potential. Being a goalie takes more development time and Dubnyk is a big man at 6′ 6″ 210 lbs (according to NHL.com). Drafted back in 2004 by the Edmonton Oilers, Dubnyk has never really had a good team in front of him, the best being the Wild this season. Dubnyk played behind a very young and defensively porous Oilers team for much of his career, which contributed to his downfall last year.
Going to Arizona and working with acclaimed goalie coach Sean Burke appears to have done wonders for Dubnyk. Burke helped Ilya Bryzgalov and Smith reach new heights under his tutelage and it looks like he has done the same for Dubnyk. A good goalie coach can do wonders for a player. A good example would be Stephane Waite. Hired two years ago by the Montreal Canadiens, he took an already talented Price and has helped him become the all-world goalie he is today.
With the way Dubnyk has played for Minnesota this year, there is a very good chance he could be back in a Wild uniform next season. With not much confidence in the other goalies in the system, Dubnyk is the best they have and he is just entering his prime years as a goaltender. Dubnyk’s potential is finally being unlocked after all these years and the Wild are reaping the benefits.
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