Jeremy Swayman has felt just about every possible emotion over the last couple of weeks, but he would have wanted nothing more than to be continuing a path toward winning a Hockey East championship with his University of Maine teammates at TD Garden.
The junior did everything in his power -- and then some -- to give the Black Bears that opportunity on his way to becoming the first goaltender to win Hockey East Player of the Year honors since 2016 as well as one of the three finalists for the Hobey Baker award.
The next door of Swayman’s career trickled open sooner than expected after the entire college hockey postseason was canceled because of the coronavirus. The news came down just one day before the Black Bears and UConn were scheduled to begin their best-of-three Hockey East quarterfinal series, unexpectedly ending a successful season.
There was certainly sadness and disappointment, but Swayman quickly turned to his next order of business and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins.
“You want to have a short memory, that goalie mentality, right? It happened and there’s nothing you can do,” Swayman said of losing Maine’s postseason chances and the abrupt move forward. “I’m just going to keep doing my thing, business as usual, and train as if I’m going to play tomorrow. Rest is crucial, but I’m still in that playing mindset because our season just ended. Right now, I couldn’t be more excited to join such an incredible organization.”
The next stage of Swayman’s journey is kicking off during an incredibly uncertain time throughout the United States, but the 6-foot-2, 183-pound stopper is, indeed, getting right to work at home, even as the time of anyone’s next competitive hockey game -- with the seasons for the National Hockey League and its affiliates at least on hold -- is still to be determined.
“I’ll be doing yoga classes, pilates, any kind of core and balance training that I can really critique on and really just taking some time to hone in on my own body and do what I need to do to prepare for my first pro season,” said Swayman, a fourth-round pick by the Bruins in 2017.
In addition to yoga and pilates, some of Swayman’s other home workouts will include circuit and TRX training.
Swayman is also a passionate outdoorsman, so the new-found time away from the rink has allowed him to pursue a passion that also attracted him to Maine during his recruiting process. Mountain climbing and mountain biking have been among his daily activities since he returned home.
“Everything is (geared toward) body weight, which allows me to focus on some different muscles that I might not use a lot during the season,” he said. “It gives me a chance to activate those muscles and train them for the season.”
Maine is just one of the many New England colleges conducting its classes online for the remainder of the spring semester. Students were forced to move out of their dormitories on the Orono campus, and the rest of the school’s winter and spring athletic schedules were subsequently canceled.
As a result, Swayman is continuing his training in his home state of Alaska after inking his first pro contract. He made his step to the Bruins organization official in a small ceremony at Alfond Arena, where he was surrounded by coach Red Gendron and the rest of Maine’s coaching staff as well as his father, Ken. By early that Wednesday evening, he was getting ready to board a flight home.
As far as daily life, things are no different in Alaska with most public spaces being closed in order to try to help combat the spread of the virus.
“It’s a tough situation for a lot of people, obviously, but we’re going to make sure we’re getting by and making the most of what I will be able to do out here right now,” Swayman said. “It’s really similar to what was going on back at school, so we’re under a quarantine. All the restaurants are closed, take-out only. The grocery stores are all that’s open. It’s good to see that we’re taking it seriously.”
Although his on-ice practice time might be limited in the foreseeable future, this unprecedented period of time in all of sports will become a perfect opportunity for Swayman to get his body into perfect shape for the eventual return of hockey. He will most certainly be creating new routines as this delay in action continues, and that is nothing new to those that know him best.
“Jeremy has improved his game as time has gone on, but his work habits, his attention to detail and how he takes care of himself -- all of those things are essentially habits,” said Gendron, the seventh-year head coach. “He was very mature as far as his focus and detail when he got here and he’s only improved that throughout his career. He’s obviously had a great year this year and was a great leader on our hockey club.”
After the sudden end to his college tenure, Swayman is eager to move forward. He is joining a Bruins farm system that also added Minnesota Duluth defenseman Nick Wolff on the same day, and the organization has high hopes.
His signing is the current climax of an extended journey as a Bruin. He has gotten a taste of the pro ranks at Boston’s annual development camps each summer during his Maine career, allowing him to establish relationships with goaltending development coach Mike Dunham and other members of the staff, reaching all the way to the top in GM Don Sweeney.
Two of Swayman’s main keys to success during the season were simple and won’t change as he turns from a collegiate to a pro. With Tuukka Rask’s future becoming more uncertain and other goaltending prospects like Kyle Keyser and Dan Vladar still developing, Swayman has an opportunity to have an immediate impact at a high pro level.
“I think the biggest thing for me was staying in the moment, not making a game bigger than it is … and really just enjoying the game,” he said. “Everyone (in the Bruins organization has) said there’s an opportunity at hand now and we want you to take full advantage. Winning means everything to me, and I want to win wherever I’m placed. That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
It all came together in 2019-20 after Swayman was one of the most valuable players on any team in college hockey. He helped the Black Bears clinch fourth place in the Hockey East standings and, as a result, what was slated to be their first home playoff series in the quarterfinal (eight-team) round since 2012.
He led Hockey East with a .939 save percentage, reaching that mark while making more saves (1,099) and seeing more shots (1,170) than any Division 1 netminder. Now, the next step is here.
“It’s a world-class organization that knows what it means and what it takes to win, so I was excited to finally get the chance to sign a pro contract with them,” Swayman said of the Bruins. “All of that shows from the recruiting process and player development process. They trust their guys and make everyone feel like a part of the organization.”
