Savoring his first NHL All-Star weekend, Anchorage’s Jeremy Swayman may just be scratching the surface of his talents

TORONTO — There seems to be no limit to what Anchorage’s Jeremy Swayman might achieve.

On Saturday, following appearances by Scott Gomez in 2000 and 2008, he became just the second Alaskan to ever appear in an NHL All-Star Game.

“Wow, I didn’t know that — that’s pretty cool,” said the Boston Bruin shortly after being selected by Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon to be part of his team in the annual midseason exhibition. “It’s my job to carry the torch for Alaska because I’ve gotten the opportunity to watch so many great Alaskan players go before me and pave the way for players like myself.

“I still have the Alaska state on the back of my helmet, so it’s something that I take really seriously, and I wouldn’t be here without my upbringing there, my coaches there, and the people that have gotten me here.”

The 25-year-old, who played on the hockey team at South Anchorage High School a decade ago, added that while he may be the first Alaska goalie to be an All-Star, he is far from the first to play the position in the NHL.

Following in the footsteps of Ty Conklin in the early 2000s, Swayman enjoyed opposing Pheonix Copley in a game a couple of seasons ago, while just a few weeks ago, he was able to meet up with Isaiah Saville when the Bruins visited the Vegas Golden Knights.

Swayman said a pair of Alaska goaltending gurus — Steve Thompson and P.D. Melgoza — have taken several goalies statewide under their wings intending to raise the level of play between the pipes.

“It’s really awesome, and it’s thanks to some really special mentors,” he said. “I didn’t have a goalie coach growing up, and Steve Thompson took it upon himself to make sure Alaskan goalies were getting that same coaching that players were getting in the Lower 48. If it wasn’t for him, I definitely wouldn’t be here, so I couldn’t be more grateful for him and all the other Alaskan goalie coaches, and coaches alike, to make sure that all our goalies are getting the love they need.”

From Swayman’s early childhood when his podiatrist father, Ken, would take him to University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves games, he had his mind set on becoming a professional goalie. While on the Wolverines roster, he was not a highly touted recruit, but by working with Thompson and fully committing himself to continuous improvement — reinforced by constant support from his dad — Swayman started to find his way.

Eventually, he moved to Colorado to play for the Pikes Peak Miners, where he attracted plenty of attention from pro scouts. That led to being selected by the Bruins in the fourth round of the 2017 entry draft, before heading to the University of Maine for seasoning, where he racked up a long list of accolades, including winning the Mike Richter Award in 2020, given to the top goalie in college hockey.

After joining the Bruins’ farm team in Providence that fall, he was called up to Boston in April 2021. Last year, he was part of a platoon system with Linus Ullmark, forming a close bond with the veteran Swede, as the Bruins had one of the best regular seasons in league history. With the tandem allowing the league’s fewest goals, it was a dream season for Swayman, paving the way to 62 wins in his first 100 NHL games, more than any other active goaltender.

Unfortunately for Swayman and his teammates, the playoffs were an entirely different matter. With Ullmark in net, the Bruins cruised to a 3-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers, who had barely snuck into the postseason. The momentum swung dramatically with losses in games five and six as Ullmark struggled. Suddenly, Boston had to win a decisive seventh game to advance out of the first round. Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery turned to Swayman for the high-pressure start.

The 6-foot-2, 197-pounder looked like he would be the hero for Boston until Florida scored to tie the game with only one minute remaining, followed by an overtime winner to secure one of the biggest upsets in league history.

It was a crushing setback for Swayman.

“I was so excited to play Game 7, I couldn’t wait to get in the net,” he said. “When we didn’t win, it was an experience that I never want to feel again. However, I’m grateful that it happened, because I can learn from it. Now, I will do whatever I can to not let it happen again, and next time, we’ll win Game 7.”

Fresh after that stinging loss, he faced even more disappointment with a bitter contract dispute. It ended in arbitration and a one-year deal worth $3.475 million.

“I had no idea about the rules on arbitration and no idea on the rules about being an RFA (restricted free agent),” he explained. “Going in cold, I was expecting: ‘Oh, I’m going to sign a decent deal. It’s going to be awesome and I’m going to be a Bruin forever.’ But I saw the business side of hockey, and how they can play hardball, and how you can play hardball. It is an experience that I don’t wish upon anyone else. However, I’ve been comfortable before, and it’s never been a good thing. This was a great opportunity for me to come down to earth a little bit and be humbled in a way, and allow myself to not be comfortable.”

Getting that chip back on his shoulder seems to have been the motivational fuel needed to take his game to a whole new level this season. As the Bruins are once again at the top of the Eastern Conference, he has won 16 of his 27 starts, with a 2.30 goals-against average, three shutouts, and .924 save percentage. With Ullmark injured and out of the lineup in recent weeks, Swayman has been particularly impressive, carrying a heavy workload into the All-Star break, and resulting in plenty of talk from Bruin pundits and fans about the need for the organization to sign him to a longer-term deal before his contract runs out and he becomes a restricted free agent.

Swayman is trying to put all that to the side, so he can focus on finishing the regular season in top form, before making a statement to the hockey world in the playoffs on a Stanley Cup contender.

And before any of that, he just wants to savor the special moment of being an All-Star this weekend.

Montgomery is also in Toronto, serving as one of the All-Star coaches. When asked who he thinks will be named the most valuable player of the All-Star Game, he did not hesitate in saying it would be the man his teammates call “Bulldog” because of his intensity and determination.

“Swayman is extremely competitive. He has a swagger and an inner confidence. He believes he can do anything. I feel it. I think he’s coming here to compete and that’s why I think he’ll be the MVP.”

Swayman attributes that rock-solid self-belief to his father.

“I had a dad with the best work ethic and integrity and just overall hard work mentality that I have ever seen,” he said. “With his triumphs and his downfalls and everything that he persevered through, he wouldn’t allow me to not be confident, because he knew what it took to be successful in the real world. I was probably getting treated like a 25-year-old when I was 10 years old.

“At the time, I didn’t want to hear it, but I’m definitely appreciative of it now, and whenever I am faced with a challenge, I think about him and what he would do in that situation. I couldn’t be more fortunate to have a mentor and a role model like him,” he said, adding that having him in Toronto to share in the All-Star experience is the highlight of the weekend.

As for Alaska, he thinks about it often, and cannot wait to return again, which he expects will be sometime during the summer offseason.

“I love fishing, so the second I get back there, I’ll be on the river,” he said. “And I’ll make sure I’m getting up in the mountains and enjoying the wildlife and the nature I grew up around, because I feel most at home when I don’t have cell service, when I don’t have a watch that I’m looking at every second. When I’m disconnected, I’m most connected.”