Former University of Maine All-American goalie Jeremy Swayman is one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the National Hockey League’s best goalie.
It is the first time the Boston Bruins netminder has been chosen as a Vezina finalist.
The other Vezina finalists are Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 27-year-old Swayman is just the second UMaine goalie to earn the distinction.
Ben Bishop was a three-time Vezina finalist (2014, 2016, 2019) but never won it. He was with Tampa Bay for the first two and with Dallas for the third one.
Swayman posted a regular season record of 31-18-4 for the Bruins and registered a 2.71 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 54 games. The 31 wins were a career-high.
Swayman, a fourth-round draft pick of the Bruins and the 111th player selected in the 2017 draft, was a Hobey Baker Award finalist and the recipient of the Mike Richter Award that goes to college hockey’s best goalie for his play during the 2019-20 season.
He made his debut for the Bruins the following season.
The Anchorage, Alaska, native allowed two goals or less in 31 of 54 games including seven times in the last 12 games to help the Bruins sew up the first wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after the team missed the Stanley Cup playoffs a year ago.
He allowed two goals in 17 games, one in 12, and he had two shutouts.
He notched a save percentage of at least .900 in 38 starts, which led the NHL.
His 1,426 total saves were fifth-most.
He has had a significant bounceback campaign after posting the worst numbers of his career a year ago.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” said UMaine assistant coach/goalie coach Alfie Michaud, who coached Swayman when he was at UMaine. “It’s a goal of his to be one of the best goalies in that league. It’s a feather in his hat.”
Michaud said Swayman has matured.
“It’s another year in the league. Everybody knows last year was a tough year,” said Michaud. “The thing Jeremy does really well is he learns. He is always taking in information and trying to get better.
“He learned a lot from last year and grew from it and is trying to apply it to this year and he has done that,” Michaud added. “He is trying his best to not get caught up in moments and things he can’t control and is doing a better job of staying in the moment and enjoying the situation that he’s in, both on and off the ice.”
Sorokin was 29-24-2 with a 2.68 GAA and a .906 save percentage. He led the NHL in shutouts with seven and led the NHL in high-danger saves (452) and high-danger save percentage (.864). He held teams to two goals or less 21 times in 55 games.
He is a second-time finalist after being the runnerup in 2022-23.
Vasilevskiy was 39-15-4 with a 2.12 GAA and a .912 save percentage. He led the NHL in wins, was second in GAA and tied for fourth in save percentage among goalies who played at least 20 games.
He is a six-time Vezina finalist and won it in 2018-19.
He limited teams to two goals or less in 35 of his 58 games.