Adin Hill vowed to turn over every stone possible to ensure his injury issues are in the past.
The Golden Knights hope his efforts are rewarded.
The Stanley Cup-winning goaltender enters his third season with the team as the undisputed No. 1 after goaltender Logan Thompson was traded in June. That means the Knights’ chances of making another deep playoff run rest on Hill and whether he can stay in his crease.
“My body feels good. My hips and lower body (are) better than ever,” Hill said. “Just tried to make a program this summer and stuck with it.”
Hill, 28, said his training plan is similar to what he’s done in previous years, just with a few tweaks he feels will benefit him in the long run.
The hope is it sets him up for a huge campaign. He is entering the final season of the two-year, $9.8 million contract he signed after being the primary starter for the Knights’ Stanley Cup run.
Hill’s problems have never been performance related. He has a .912 save percentage in the regular season with the Knights and a .932 mark in the playoffs.
His main issue has been availability. Hill appeared in a career-high 35 games last season, but still missed large chunks of the year with a lower-body injuries. He only made 25 starts his first season with the Knights.
“It’s hard to play the position of goalie with injury on your mind,” Hill said. “You just have to go out there and play.”
The good news is Hill has had plenty of success when he is in the net.
He was 10-2-2 to start last season. Then, despite all the time he missed, he was sharp when the Knights called upon him in the playoffs.
Hill got the nod in Game 5 with his team tied 2-2 in its first-round series against the Dallas Stars. The Knights lost in Game 7, but Hill allowed only five goals in his three appearances and posted a shutout in Game 6.
It was a strong end to a trying season.
“It was frustrating,” Hill said. “Nobody wants to get injured. It sucks seeing your team battle without you.”
New tandem
Hill wants as many reps and starts as possible this year. He believes he’s ready for that kind of workload.
Whether he gets it depends on whether he stays healthy and whether his new backup is reliable. The Knights replaced Thompson by signing veteran Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, $1.8 million deal July 1.
Samsonov, like Hill, has plenty to prove this year. He’s coming off a disappointing season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in which he posted an .890 save percentage. He, like Hill, will also enter the year as a pending unrestricted free agent.
The two have already struck up a relationship as they get ready to share the net this season.
“He was probably the first guy who texted me after I signed my contract,” Samsonov said. “He’s such a nice guy. He’s helped me a lot.”
Calm and collected
One of Hill’s key traits is he never gets rattled.
Coach Bruce Cassidy said nothing seems to bother his goaltender. Hill moves on from bad goals. He doesn’t let a poor performance impact him the next day. It’s why the Knights trust him as much as they do.
“He’s mature that way,” Cassidy said. “Even though he hasn’t played a ton of games in a particular season, he has the demeanor to do that. His health just needs to cooperate. I think he has a good mentality to do that.”
Hill, with Thompson gone, is the Knights’ unquestioned leader in net this year. The only thing standing between him being the guy moving forward, in Las Vegas or with another team, is showing he can play more games.
“Your mind has to kind of be clear. Be confident in your body and go play,” Hill said. “I’m going to try to play as many as I can, as many as they let me and go from there.”
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
