BOSTON — If Team USA calls, and Jeremy Swayman would be glad if they did, the Bruins goalie would like to continue playing as he tries to get his game back to the level it was a year ago.
The IIHF World Championships will take place next month in Denmark and Sweden. The event annually features NHL players whose teams didn’t make or have been eliminated from the playoffs.
Several Bruins will be candidates to suit up for their home countries.
Swayman, who was a reserve goalie but didn’t see game action for Team USA at the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, would like to pull on red, white and blue again.
“I would love to,” said Swayman, who said any offers to play wouldn’t likely come until after the season. “I haven’t touched on it too much because we’re still in season. I’d love to be a part of it. It’s incredible to put the USA sweater on. It’s a great opportunity to meet incredible American-born players and a chance to go win some games at this part of the season.”
Swayman, who is coming off a tough year with a 3.08 goals against average and an .894 save percentage, isn’t a lock to start or be invited.
Calgary’s Dustin Wolf, Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko, Chicago’s Spencer Knight and Anaheim’s John Gibson could be considered by coach Ryan Warsofsky. Still, Swayman figures to have a good chance.
He thinks that would be a good start to what he hopes is a rigorous off-season building his game.
"That’s going to be better training than you can get anywhere else. Go play with top players," Swayman said. “Just keep the competition alive and still test my ability to play. I want to play 70+ games. That’s something I’ve been working for. It would be a good opportunity to get.”
His 57 starts this year were two more than he played in the regular season (43) and playoffs combined in 2023-24. Like a pitcher expanding his innings capacity, playing more now could help Swayman’s endurance in the future.
“It’s experience training. The biggest thing is mental. I think my body can handle it, no problem,” he said. “It’s just the mental piece of it coming into competition every day, knowing you’re going to give your team a chance to win game-in and game-out.”
That’s not the only mental challenge he’s still pushing through. Swayman takes presenting a positive face seriously, which hasn’t been easy this year as the Bruins plummeted from Cup contender to the lottery and traded several key veterans along the way.
“I had bad games. I had good games. Still didn’t get results. That’s something we all had to go through,” he said. “For me, it was the first time I had to go through it like this, especially at this level. It’s a test. You don’t want to let anyone down. That’s the biggest thing. I had to show up to work every day and be a good professional and a leader. That was something that weighed heavy on me at times."
He said he planned to watch the playoffs for motivation.
“I haven’t been in this position before. Feels weird to have it all be over. I’m not ready for it all to be over,” he said. "It’s not O.K. It’s not up to the standard that we have here and something we’re not going to let happen again."
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