In eight games last season, the first shot on the Providence College net went in.
Nine games into the current year – with freshman Philip Svedebäck in goal — it hasn’t happened once.
The Swedish netminder’s play has been a major factor in the Friars’ 6-2-1 start. A sweep against UMass last weekend lifted them to fourth in the Pairwise rankings.
With very few exceptions, Svedebäck has stopped the shots that should be stopped and has made timely saves.
“He’s been a brick wall. It seems like he really doesn’t get rattled at all,” said senior captain Parker Ford (Wakefield, R.I.).
“We keep throwing him in tough environments,” coach Nate Leaman said after Saturday’s comeback victory in Amherst.
“For a freshman goaltender, he’s now played at Quinnipiac, Northeastern, Denver twice, UMass and he just keeps growing every week. Nothing but a lot of respect for that kid and the way he’s playing.”
Goaltending was an open question for PC after starter Jaxson Stauber left school at the end of his junior season last spring to sign an NHL contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Friars added Svedebäck and Austin Roden, a transfer from Omaha of the NCHC. When a pulled muscle put Roden on the sidelines in early October, the job went to Svedebäck.
The 20-year-old has started every game and has been calm, cool and collected between the pipes, even while chaos swirls around him. He’s not thinking about the last shot, even if it went in. It’s the next shot that he’s focused on.
“I’ve been working on that a lot. Every shot is a new situation, so you can’t live in the past. You’ve got to stay focused on what’s happening here and now,” he said.
That approach is endorsed by Mike Dunham, goalie development coach for the Boston Bruins, who drafted Svedebäck in the fourth round in 2021.
“If he gives up a goal, he comes back and makes a big save right after that to turn the page quickly and focus on the next shot, which isn’t always easy. That’s a trait that’s tough to teach,” said Dunham, a longtime NHL goaltender who played for Maine’s 42-1-2 national champions in 1993.
Svedbäck’s composure rubs off on his teammates.
“He doesn’t get rattled, the bench doesn’t get rattled when one goes in," Leaman said. "That means they’ve got a lot of belief in him. For a goaltender the most important stat is a W. Whether you’re winning it 7-4 or 2-1, you’ve got to know how to win both those games."
His teammates are appreciative.
“It’s definitely nice knowing that you have a goalie back there that can come up with the big save when you need it,” said junior center Chase Yoder.
Svedebäck, a native of Stockholm, skated out until he was eight or nine years old. “Then I came to the rink one day and we didn’t have a goalie. I tried out and I was, ‘All right, this is what I want to do,’" he said. "Ever since then I’ve been a goalie.”
He joined the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL for the 2021-22 season soon after being drafted by the Bruins. After being recruited by Leaman and his staff, Svedebäck committed to PC in October 2021.
“While they were recruiting me, they had a good plan for me. When I first got here in August, we started to work extremely hard. To be honest, some days I was kind of, like, pissed off at (Leaman),” he said.
“But now when I see all the results I get from it, I can look back and say it’s 100 percent worth it. It’s really good to have him as my coach. He’s a really good guy.”
Svedebäck and Dunham have built a good relationship, too.
“If I have any questions about anything, he usually has good answers or a solution to whatever the problem is. That’s for anything — if it’s hockey or school. He’s helping me a lot and I really appreciate it,” said Svedebäck.
Dunham, who is in Providence several times a week with the AHL Bruins, has seen Svedebäck play in person and he watches video, too.
“I mostly talk to him about how he’s doing, where he thinks his game’s at," Dunham said. "I’ll throw out some suggestions, I’ll let him know what I see sometimes in games, but with him being in school I’m not really hands-on. I want to make sure he’s good mentally. I feel like he’s enjoying the college experience, which is a great thing for him."
Day to day, Svedebäck gets plenty of input from Bruce Irving, PC’s volunteer goalie coach.
“I have a lot of good people around me that are willing to help me take my game to the next level, which I really appreciate,” Svedebäck said.
With continued development, he has the tools to play at the next level, says Dunham.
“The first thing that sticks out is his size (6-foot-3, 208 pounds). He looks big in the net," Dunham said. "With that size, his positioning is good. I think he’s gotten faster and stronger since he’s gotten on campus.
“His rebound control has gotten better and his skating has gotten better. He gets in position quicker. I see a big difference from last year at this point to this year at this point. He’s a guy that you root for because he wants to get better. He wants to play in the NHL someday.”
Svedebäck’s father, Johan Malmgren, died during the summer, so Philip has been carrying the burden of that loss.
“It’s tough. I obviously miss him a lot every day," Svedebäck said. "Some days are tougher than others, but I know one of the last things I said to him was, ‘I’m going to do this because I know you want me to do it.'
“I’m not going to stop chasing my dream. It was me and my dad when I was like 10 that started this together. I want to finish it. Now when he’s not with me and not with us it makes it tougher, but I’m still motivated to go to the rink and get better.”
