Some of the top goaltenders in the NHL have roots in college hockey.
Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, who last season won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player and Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender, played at University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars and Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks also played in the NCAA, Oettinger at Boston University and Demko at Boston College. Any of those three could represent the United States in the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Jonathan Quick of the New York Rangers, at age 39, is winding down a career that’s seen him win the Stanley Cup twice with the Los Angeles Kings and once with the Vegas Golden Knights. He played at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Former college goalies have been achieving success in the NHL for many years, going back to when Hockey Hall of Famers Tony Esposito (Michigan Tech University) and Ken Dryden (Cornell University) starred for the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, respectively.
More are on the way.
Here are 10 college goalies to watch this season (in alphabetical order):
Trey Augustine, Michigan State University
The junior has compiled an impressive resume in his first three NCAA seasons.
Last season, he was the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year and a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, given to the top goalie in NCAA hockey, as well as a first-team All-American after going 19-7-4 with a 2.08 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
Augustine helped the United States win a gold medal at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. He is the all-time leader in goalie wins in that tournament for the U.S. with 12.
He is 3-1-0 with a 2.22 GAA and .903 save percentage this season and helped Michigan State to a pair of wins at then-No.1 ranked Boston University on Oct. 17 and 18.
Augustine was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the second round (No. 41) of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Albin Boija, University of Maine
The junior is expected to draw wide free agent interest from NHL teams this season.
Boija went 23-8-6 with a 1.82 GAA and .928 save percentage as a sophomore last season, when he also was a Richter Award finalist and a second-team All-American. He is 2-0-1 this season with a 1.95 GAA and .926 save percentage.
A native of Sundsvall, Sweden, Boija attended development camp with the Boston Bruins this past summer.
Louka Cloutier, Boston College
The freshman has big skates to fill taking over for Jacob Fowler, who won the Richter Award last season and signed with the Canadiens.
He is off to a good start with a 2-0-1 record, 1.30 GAA and .937 save percentage.
Cloutier was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the fifth round (No. 132) of the 2024 NHL Draft.
Austin Elliott, University of Massachusetts Lowell
The 21-year-old won nearly everything there was to win in the Canadian Hockey League last season.
He helped London to the Memorial Cup championship, compiling a record of 32-1-0 in the regular season and 16-1 in the postseason.
He had the Ontario Hockey League’s best GAA (2.19) and save percentage (.924), and was named the CHL’s Most Outstanding Goaltender.
Elliott, undrafted by an NHL team, made 17 saves in a 4-0 win against Merrimack College in his NCAA debut on Oct. 3.
Adam Gajan, University of Minnesota Duluth
The Slovakian was the first goalie selected in the 2023 draft, going to the Blackhawks in the second round (No. 35).
He is off to a strong start this season as a sophomore, having gone 5-1-0 with a 1.51 GAA and .922 save percentage.
Michael Hrabal, University of Massachusetts Amherst
An All-Hockey East Third Team selection last season, Hrabal went 19-12-5 with a 2.37 GAA and .924 save percentage.
He handled the workload for Czechia at the World Junior Championship in 2024 and 2025, and is off to a 4-1-0 start for UMass this season with a 2.40 GAA and .924 save percentage.
The Utah Mammoth prospect was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the second round (No. 38) of the 2023 draft.
Jack Ivankovic, University of Michigan
The freshman is off to a dominant start, putting up a 6-0-0 record while allowing seven goals in six games (1.17 GAA). He also has a .942 save percentage.
Ivankovic, who played for Brampton of the OHL last season, was chosen by the Nashville Predators in the second round (No. 58) of the 2025 NHL Draft.
Hampton Slukynsky, Western Michigan University
As a freshman, Slukynsky made 24 saves in a 6-2 win against Boston University in the national championship game on April 12 and finished last season 19-5-1 with a 1.90 GAA and .922 save percentage.
He’s 3-1-0 with a 2.03 GAA and .890 save percentage this season, including stopping 35 of 36 shots in a two-game sweep at UMass Lowell on Oct. 17 and 18.
Slukynsky was selected by the Kings in the fourth round (No. 118) of the 2023 draft.
Alex Tracy, Minnesota State University
A senior free agent, Tracy was a finalist for the Richter Award last season, when he went 26-9-3 with a 1.42 GAA, .946 save percentage and five shutouts.
He is 1-1-2 with a 2.17 GAA and .923 save percentage this season.
Mikhail Yegorov, Boston University
Yegorov took over the net as soon as he arrived from Omaha of the United States Hockey League last January, and the Russian went 11-6-1 with a 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentage to help Boston University advance to the national championship game.
As a sophomore this season, Yegorov is 2-2-1 with a 2.75 GAA and .911 save percentage.
The New Jersey Devils selected him in the second round (No. 49) of the 2024 draft.
