There's something unique about the way Connor Hellebeuyck plays goalie that may or may not get discussed. It's supremely in the weeds, but he's broken it down himself.
Every goalie in the world is making reads with a tapestry of information that'd shock you. It's no less mentally taxing than being an NFL QB.
The position of the shooter and all 4 of his teammates, the position of his defenders in front of him, the handedness of the shooter and the angle of the stick's blade.
This is all just part of the information that a good goalie will process immediately.
Hellebeuyck goes a step further than that.
He doesn't only see and process all of this information. He actively feeds shooters disinformation to influence their reactions.
He'll show them holes that he knows he's opening with his stance to entice them to shoot there and then close them.
You could see him do it in the gold medal game, tricking Macklin Celebrini into taking a wrist shot at pad height from 17 feet out. On a breakaway.
The McDavid breakaway featured McDavid simply running out of room before he could make a move because Hellebeuyck gave him information overload, and McDavid is one of the sport's fastest processors of information.
He's playing chess and the sport is playing checkers.
He's not a good skater or particularly athletic, two qualities that often determine goalie success.
But he's become the best in the world because he's THAT far ahead mentally.
It's a hell of a story.