Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman and the overwhelming influence of self-belief

BOSTON — Save percentages are sinking. This will not be the fault of goaltenders. Sharper shooters, teaching methods and stick know-how are amongst the causes that at present’s goalies are under siege.

“Players are just getting better, more skilled. I feel like there’s way more goals,” mentioned Boston Bruins coach Marco Sturm. “Power play is a big reason, too. They’re just so good at it. So many more goals. Maybe that’s why save percentage is going down, the combination of a little bit of everything. The league wants to see goals. Unfortunately for the goalies.”

Jeremy Swayman is aware of the feeling. In 2020-21, he was No. 3 on the organizational depth chart behind Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak. Swayman, 22 at the time, stormed into the NHL that yr with a .945 save proportion.

Just 5 years later, following the most full season of his profession, he posted a .908 save proportion. The 27-year-old, nevertheless, doesn’t consider a earlier period’s customary is an unachievable artifact.

“That’s a big team stat,” Swayman mentioned, recalling his first NHL season. “When I know where the puck is being delivered from, and I’m getting that first shot with clear vision, that’s the big thing. We had a really veteran team when that was happening. So I think it’s something that’s definitely doable with the right team.”

The Buffalo Sabers are favored to beat the Bruins in Round 1, however it’s difficult to measure the influence Swayman can have. Everything has aligned for the No. 1 goalie this season to optimize his efficiency. It began together with his unparalleled self-belief that he can do something he desires.

“I don’t think Jeremy’s ever given anybody a second thought about his confidence in himself,” mentioned basic supervisor Don Sweeney, “and what his abilities are.”

World dominance

On May 25, 2025, Andrew Peeke actually conquered the world. Peeke and his Team USA brothers beat Switzerland in extra time to win the 2025 World Championship.

Peeke felt redeemed. He knew it was double so for his goalie. Just about all the things had gone sideways for Swayman previous to the match:

• Linus Ullmark, his shut good friend and netminding companion, had been traded. Swayman needed to face the strain of being the No. 1 goalie for the first time.
• Swayman missed all of coaching camp as a result of of an expired contract. Negotiations bubbled over when President Cam Neely declared he’d have 64 million reasons to be together with his group, which prompted a response from Lewis Gross, the goalie’s agent.
• Swayman, who had been coaching at Boston University whereas negotiating his deal, couldn’t get again on prime of his recreation. The Bruins, in the meantime, struggled to realize traction in the standings. An attempted fight with Darcy Kuemper didn’t go as deliberate.

So when Swayman and Peeke acquired the name for a world reboot, it was precisely what each of them required.

“Going into Worlds, obviously, for a lot of us, last year wasn’t what we expected,” Peeke mentioned. “Going to Worlds was just a fresh start, a clean slate. He was able to just check out of what was going on here and put all his hopes into winning the gold medal there.”

Swayman’s prominence was not a given. He began on equal floor with Joey Daccord, however Swayman did not give the Americans another choice as a result of of the soundness of his recreation.

Technically, he has at all times been near picture-perfect. He manages his depth properly. He squares as much as pucks. He would not cheat. He is often on his toes, simply as joyful to make use of the overlap on the strong-side put up as dropping into reverse vertical-horizontal. He prefers to save lots of his athleticism for an emergency.

But in Denmark and Sweden, the place the match passed off, Swayman expressed his technical proficiency by cleansing one thing that had been muddied by the Bruins’ turbulence: his thoughts.

Believing in himself

On April 4, Darren Raddysh scored the game-winning aim for the Tampa Bay Lightning by engaging in one thing uncommon: making Swayman look human.

The aim was so startling as a result of of the method by which Swayman in any other case rolled by way of the common season. He turned again nearly each stoppable shot. He pulled again pucks that ought to have ended up behind him.

Internationally, Swayman leapfrogged over Jake Oettinger, the No. 2 US goalie at the 4 Nations Face-Off, to develop into Connor Hellebuyck’s backup. His prize was a gold medal.

Swayman was the No. 1 motive the Bruins executed an surprising U-turn.

“It was a tough year for him last year,” Sturm mentioned after Swayman’s 4-0 shutout in Game 82 towards the New Jersey Devils. “He needed that World Championship. He needed that summer. He maybe needed that coaching change. He needed new guys in the locker room. Because he came in with a really big smile. He was very focused the whole season long. Now he got gold too. I’m very happy he had a good game today. We lost a few under his belt. But with this great performance, I know he’s going to give us a great opportunity to win Game 1. We talk about 100 points. There were a lot of guys we were lucky. But he was the reason why.”

Swayman knows why his glove, blocker, pads and stick became trustworthy once more. He believed in himself again.

“The brain’s a muscle too,” said Swayman. “It’s one thing we are able to practice each single day. It coincides with bodily exercise. I do know I get lots out of pleasure of testing my physique and pushing it to its limits. It was a extremely gratifying expertise for me. Your physique responds the proper means, and your thoughts might be relaxed too in simply realizing you’ll be able to push to an excellent larger stage.”

Swayman’s cockiness is back. He said he is retired from fighting after his Stadium Series scrap with Andrei Vasilevskiy. That declaration has not discouraged him from flexing his muscles, as he did with a cross-check to the Carolina Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov on April 7.

“When he’s on his game, he has a little bit of an edge, little bit of swagger,” Peeke said. “You can simply inform when he is in the zone. It rubs off on us gamers, even for us individually, once you’re feeling the most assured all through the season. Being in a position to play with somewhat bit of swagger can at all times assist. Having that in your goalie is superior.”