As nice as it is to have top goal scorers and hard-hitting defensemen on your team, there’s no position more important than goaltending.
Former NHL coach Alain Vigneault explains it best.
“If my goalie is better than your goalie, I win,” he used to say. “If your goalie is better than my goalie, you win.”
That held true in the first part of the season for the Utah Hockey Club. They’ve already been shut out five times — largely due to stellar performances from some excellent goalies. That combined with the fact that Connor Ingram has not looked like himself thus far has led to some tough losses for the NHL’s newest franchise.
But just when things were starting to look hopeless, Karel Vejmelka entered the chat with a 49-save win over the mighty Carolina Hurricanes.
“Veg-gie! Veg-gie!” chanted the crowd at the Delta Center that night, in honor of the game’s first star.
“It’s unreal,” Vejmelka said after the game. “This is a moment to remember for sure.”
He certainly has remembered it, as he’s posted the iconic photo of him celebrating the game not once, but twice.
How good is Karel Vejmelka?
Vejmelka has played in all six games since then. His only break was the first period and a bit against the Washington Capitals, but Ingram left the ice six minutes into the second period and has been considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury ever since.
Even with the heavy workload — and facing some elite shooters — Vejmelka has a save percentage of .901 in those six games.
Overall, Vejmelka has some of the best individual stats in the league. He’s among the top 10 in:
- Save percentage (eighth)
- Goals-against average (seventh)
- High-danger save percentage (10th)
- High-danger goals-against average (10th)
“It’s unreal,” said head coach André Tourigny after Utah’s 3-2 overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. “He’s playing well, but he didn’t get spoiled from our offense so far, but at the end of the day, we won.”
Tourigny is referring to the fact that with Vejmelka in net, the team has struggled to score. In his first four games, it scored just one goal. It’s not as extreme now as is was earlier in the season, but if UHC could put a few more goals on the board, it would be in a playoff spot right now.
Connor Ingram injury
There’s still no word on Ingram’s return from his lower-body injury, but if it truly is day-to-day, it would make sense that he’d be back this weekend.
If not, Jaxson Stauber, who backed Vejmelka up on the road trip, might get the chance to make his Utah HC debut during one of the back-to-back games.
