Braden Holtby

Braden Holtby (born September 16, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fourth round, 93rd overall, by the Capitals in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Braden Holtby
Holtby with the Capitals in 2018
Born (1989-09-16) September 16, 1989
Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team Washington Capitals
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 93rd overall, 2008
Washington Capitals
Playing career 2009–present

After a couple years of development, Holtby became the Capitals starting goaltender during the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season. Beginning during the 2014–15 season, Holtby won at least 40 games in three consecutive seasons. In 2016, Holtby tied the league record for most wins by a goaltender in a single season (shared with Martin Brodeur) with 48 and was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender. The following year, he won the William M. Jennings Trophy for helping the Capitals allow the fewest goals in the league.

In 2018, Holtby backstopped the Capitals to a Stanley Cup championship, the first in franchise history.

Playing career

Junior

Holtby spent his junior career with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Blades struggled through his first two seasons with the team, and Holtby managed only 42 wins in 115 games. However, in his last WHL season, after being drafted by the Capitals in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Holtby nearly equaled his wins total from the previous two seasons, posting a much-improved 40 wins in 61 games.

Professional

In 2009, Holtby made the jump to professional hockey and split the season between the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays and the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). He posted an impressive 24 wins in 37 games for the Bears, with a 2.32 goals against average (GAA) and .917 save percentage. He won seven of 12 games with the Stingrays, and represented South Carolina in that season's ECHL All-Star Game.[1]

Holtby made his NHL debut on November 5, 2010, against the Boston Bruins at the Verizon Center. After replacing Michal Neuvirth with ten minutes remaining and the game tied 3–3, Holtby stopped four Bruins shots as the Capitals scored two goals to give him the win.[2] Holtby made his first NHL start two days later against the Philadelphia Flyers, a game the Capitals won 3–2 in overtime.[3] Holtby recorded his first NHL shutout on March 9, 2011, stopping 22 shots in a 5–0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.[4] After posting a 4–0–0 record, a 1.05 GAA and a .965 save percentage, Holtby was named the NHL's First Star of the Week for the week ending March 13, 2011.[5] On March 27, 2011, Holtby was assigned to Hershey, despite a 10–2–2 record in 14 starts.[6]

With the Capitals in 2016.

He returned on the last game of the 2011–12 season due to starter Tomáš Vokoun's and backup Michal Neuvirth's injuries.[7] Holtby started Game 1 of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Boston Bruins, saving 29 of 30 shots in a 1–0 overtime loss.[8] In Game 2, Holtby stopped 43 of 44 shots in a 2–1 double overtime win to tie the series at 1–1.[9] Washington Head Coach Dale Hunter decided to start Holtby for the next game, even though Neuvirth and Vokoun would be available in the playoffs, stating, "Holtby's our goalie." Holtby went on to aid the Capitals in upsetting the second seeded Bruins, stopping all but one of the shots he faced in a Game 7 to beat the Bruins 2–1 in overtime. He continued his sensational play against the top-seeded New York Rangers, splitting two road games in New York and stopping all shots he faced until late in a triple overtime game that saw the Capitals fall 2–1. Holtby continued his impressive goaltending by beating the Rangers in Game 4 to tie the series at 2–2. However, he was not as stellar in Game 5, allowing the game-tying goal with 6.6 seconds left in the game and then giving up the losing goal in overtime. After the game, Holtby stated, "I didn't see a thing."[10] After the loss, Holtby rebounded by making 30 saves in Game 6, with the Capitals winning 2–1 and forcing the decisive Game 7. On May 12, Holtby started in his second career Game 7. One minute and 32 seconds into the game, Brad Richards of the Rangers blasted a slap shot past Holtby, making the score 1–0 early in. Holtby was able to shake it off, however, and play a solid game, finishing with 29 saves, though the Capitals were ultimately unable to beat the Rangers in the final period, losing Game 7.

After his impressive playoff performances as a rookie, Holtby was rewarded with the starting goaltender's job for the 2012–13 season, as named by Washington's new head coach, Adam Oates. On February 25, 2013, just over a month after the lockout-shortened season commenced, Holtby agreed to a two-year, $3.7 million contract extension with the Capitals.[11]

On April 8, 2015, Holtby shut-out the Boston Bruins, 3–0, and having already shut-out Boston in his previous two games in the 2014–15 season, he became the first goaltender to ever perform a season-sweep of three or more games against Boston without a single goal allowed. This victory would also give him 41 wins on the season, tying him with Olaf Kölzig for most in a single season in Capitals history.[12] On May 4, 2015, Holtby shut-out the New York Rangers, 1–0, to capture a 2–1 playoff lead in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. The Capitals lost the series to the New York Rangers 2–1 in overtime in a game 7 at Madison Square Garden.

Following the 2014–15 NHL season Holtby became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Washington Capitals made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and, on July 5, 2015, Holtby filed for Salary Arbitration.[13] On July 24, it was announced by the team that Holtby had signed a 5-year, $30.5 million contract.[14][15] On April 9, 2016, the Capitals defeated the St. Louis Blues 5–1, earning Holtby his 48th win of the season (four of which came via shootouts) and tying him with Martin Brodeur for the most wins in a single season record. He achieved the mark with 66 game starts throughout the 2015–16 NHL season.[16]

Holtby won the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's best goaltender, in 2016.

Holtby leads the Capitals onto the ice during the 2018 playoffs

During the 2017–18 season, Holtby became the second fastest NHL goaltender to record 200 career wins behind Ken Dryden. He recorded this feat on November 10, 2017, when the Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1.[17] He was also named an NHL All-Star for the third consecutive season.[18]

On March 28, 2017, Holtby earned his 40th win of the season when the Capitals beat the Minnesota Wild 5–4 in overtime. This win made Holtby the third goaltender in league history to record at least 40 wins in three consecutive seasons, joining Brodeur (2005–08) and Evgeni Nabokov (2007–10).[19]

The Capitals' head coach Barry Trotz opted to choose back-up goaltender Philipp Grubauer to start the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.[20] After Grubauer struggled against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first two games, Holtby stepped in as the Capitals starting goaltender, not being pulled for the remainder of the playoffs. Holtby helped to lead the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, posting a record of 16–7, a .922 save percentage, a 2.16 goals against average and two consecutive shutouts against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals. Holtby is remembered for a play during Game 2 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, in which he made a sprawling stick save on an open-net shot by Vegas Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch. If Tuch had scored, the Golden Knights would have tied the game with two minutes remaining in the third period.[21] Many people refer to Holtby's stick save as "The Save".

Holtby finished third in Conn Smythe Trophy voting as playoff MVP, tied with Golden Knights goaltender Marc-André Fleury, behind only teammates Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, the former of which won the trophy.[22]

After a slow start to the season posting a 3.62 GAA with a .888 save percentage after 13 games,[23] Holtby made 41 of 42 saves in a 2–1 win on November 7, 2018, over the Penguins.[24]

On October 14, 2019 Holtby became the 13th goalie to give up 3 goals on 3 shots since NHL began keeping stats about shots on goal in the late 80s.[25]

Personal life

Holtby was born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, but was raised in Marshall, Saskatchewan. Holtby and his wife Brandi (née Bodnar) have two children and reside in Clarendon, Virginia.[26][27]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2005–06 Saskatoon Blades WHL 1 0 1 0 59 4 0 4.07 .925 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Saskatoon Blades WHL 51 17 29 3 2725 146 0 3.21 .895 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Saskatoon Blades WHL 64 25 29 8 3632 172 1 2.84 .908 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Saskatoon Blades WHL 61 40 16 4 3571 156 6 2.62 .910 7 3 4 414 16 0 2.32 .912
2009–10 Hershey Bears AHL 37 25 8 2 2146 83 2 2.32 .917 3 2 1 200 12 0 3.60 .857
2009–10 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 12 7 2 3 712 35 0 2.95 .911 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Hershey Bears AHL 30 17 10 2 1785 68 5 2.29 .920 6 2 4 359 18 0 3.01 .893
2010–11 Washington Capitals NHL 14 10 2 2 735 22 2 1.79 .934 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Hershey Bears AHL 40 20 15 2 2322 101 3 2.61 .906 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Washington Capitals NHL 7 4 2 1 361 15 1 2.49 .922 14 7 7 922 30 0 1.95 .935
2012–13 Hershey Bears AHL 25 12 12 1 1458 52 4 2.14 .932 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Washington Capitals NHL 36 23 12 1 2089 90 4 2.58 .920 7 3 4 433 16 1 2.22 .922
2013–14 Washington Capitals NHL 48 23 15 4 2656 126 4 2.85 .915 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Washington Capitals NHL 73 41 20 10 4247 157 9 2.22 .923 13 6 7 806 23 1 1.71 .944
2015–16 Washington Capitals NHL 66 48 9 7 3841 141 3 2.20 .922 12 6 6 732 21 2 1.72 .942
2016–17 Washington Capitals NHL 63 42 13 6 3681 127 9 2.07 .925 13 7 6 804 33 0 2.47 .909
2017–18 Washington Capitals NHL 54 34 16 4 3068 153 0 2.99 .907 23 16 7 1386 50 2 2.16 .922
2018–19 Washington Capitals NHL 59 32 19 5 3407 160 3 2.82 .911 7 3 4 449 20 1 2.67 .914
2019–20 Washington Capitals NHL 48 25 14 6 2744 142 0 3.11 .897
NHL totals 468 282 122 46 26,829 1,133 35 2.53 .916 89 48 41 5,531 193 7 2.09 .928
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
Canada Cup / World Cup
2016 Toronto

International
Year Team Event Result GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2007 Canada WJC18 4th 1 — — — — 2 0 13.58 .833
2016 Canada WCH — — — — — — — — —
Junior totals 1 — — — — 2 0 13.58 .833

Awards and honors
Awards Year
NHL
NHL All-Star 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Vezina Trophy 2016
NHL First All-Star Team 2016
NHL Second All-Star Team 2017
William M. Jennings Trophy 2017
Stanley Cup Champion 2018
International
World Cup of Hockey 2016
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gollark: You mean older processes and stuff?
gollark: (They = semiconductor fab companies)
gollark: They were busy prepandemic and scaling up takes ages and lots of money.
gollark: Supply chains are generally kind of broken right now and semiconductor stuff is very globalized. Cars have computers in them.

References
  1. "Capitals Recall Braden Holtby, Assign Michal Neuvirth to Hershey". Washington Capitals. January 31, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  2. Carrera, Katie (June 11, 2010). "Washington Capitals beat Boston Bruins, 5–3, after blowing three-goal lead". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  3. "Green's OT winner makes Capitals G Braden Holtby a winner in his first NHL Bruins rock start". The Hockey News. July 11, 2010. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  4. "Ovechkin's three points help Caps blank Oilers". TSN. March 9, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  5. "Caps' Holtby tops 'Three Stars' of the week". NHL.com. March 14, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
  6. "Caps send Holtby back to Hershey". Toronto Sun. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  7. "Braden Holtby makes 35 saves to help Caps down Rangers". ESPN. Associated Press. April 7, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  8. Golen, Jimmy (April 12, 2012). "Kelly ends it in overtime as Bruins beat Caps 1-0". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  9. Golen, Jimmy (April 14, 2012). "Backstrom gives Caps 2-1 win over Bruins in 2OT". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  10. Stephen Whyno (May 7, 2012). "Caps lose lead in final 7 seconds, fall early in OT". The Washington Times.
  11. Brough, Jason (February 25, 2013). "Caps give Holtby two-year, $3.7 million contract extension". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  12. Valentine, Harvey. "Holtby Blanks Bruins Again, Capitals Win 3-0". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  13. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=773987%5B%5D
  14. Caps PR. (July 24, 2015). "Capitals Re-sign Braden Holtby". capitalstoday.monumentalsportsnetwork.com. Arlington, Va. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  15. Brown, Katie (July 24, 2015). "Capitals sign goaltender Holtby to five-year contract". NHL.com. Arlington, Va: NHL. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  16. Isabelle Khurshudyan (April 9, 2016). "Braden Holtby ties wins record, Alex Ovechkin nets hat trick for 50 goals, and Caps top Blues". The Washington Post.
  17. Gulitti, Tom (November 11, 2017). "Capitals goalie Holtby honored to be mentioned with Dryden". NHL.com. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  18. "Holtby Selected to Participate in 2018 NHL All-Star Game". NHL.com. January 10, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  19. "Braden Holtby Earns 40th Win of the Season". NHL.com. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  20. Gulitti, Tom (April 10, 2018). "Grubauer to start Game 1 for Capitals against Blue Jackets". NHL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  21. Maese, Rick (May 31, 2018). "Braden Holtby's must-see save for Capitals 'maybe the save of a lifetime'". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  22. "Ovechkin Easy Winner in Conn Smythe Trophy Voting". NHL.com. June 8, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  23. Sam, Kasan (November 7, 2018). "Game Preview: Pens-Caps". NHL.com. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  24. Sorensen, Jon (November 8, 2018). "Capitals Beat Penguins 2-1; T.J. Oshie Scores Game-Winner". NoVa Caps. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  25. https://russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2019/10/15/braden-holtbys-0-game-against-the-colorado-avalanche-was-one-of-the-worst-ever/
  26. "Braden Holtby's fiancee gives birth to a baby boy". The Washington Post. May 12, 2012.
  27. "Braden Holtby, Wife Have Second Child, Belle Scarlett Holtby". Russian Machine Never Breaks. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Carey Price		 Winner of the Vezina Trophy
2016		 Succeeded by
Sergei Bobrovsky
Preceded by
Frederik Andersen
John Gibson		 Winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy
2017		 Succeeded by
Jonathan Quick
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