Adin Hill is Having the Time of His Life
Adin Hill #AdinHill
LAS VEGAS – Adin Hill sat alone at the podium during Friday’s Stanley Cup media day with a smile painted across his face.
As questions poured in, he gradually turned his focus to the chaos unfolding around him, observing the main concourse floor of T-Mobile Arena, which featured an endless horde of reporters racing from one interview pod to the next like swarms of locusts, nearly trampling each other in the process.
The buzz was growing. And Hill, who entered the 2023 post-season with more career AHL games than NHL games under his belt, was just trying to take it all in.
Then suddenly, reality snapped back.
“Adin, you’re in such great form right now,” exclaimed a reporter who had pushed his way through to the front of the scrum.
“If I got a thousand breakaway attempts on you, do you think I’d get even one?”
Hill began to laugh before the question had even fully reached its end, leaning back in his chair to prepare his answer.
“You’ll probably get a couple,” he chuckled. “I mean, if the puck rolls on ya. I don’t know. You’ll probably get at least a couple. We’ll see.”
The answer served as the perfect encapsulation of who Adin Hill truly is; affability at the forefront but emboldened by a sense of quiet confidence under the surface.
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It’s safe to say that same confidence is responsible for Hill sitting in the chair he was on Friday.
The 27-year-old has taken a winding road to the precipice of hockey’s highest mountain since being drafted 76th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015, having bounced between seven different teams in three different leagues over his eight years in professional hockey. Hill has been deemed a can’t-miss prospect, an injury-plagued netminder who couldn’t stay healthy, and a last-minute stop-gap. He’s been a “Quad-A” player too good for the AHL but not good enough for regular NHL duty, and, now the backbone of a potential Stanley Cup contender.
You name it, Hill has lived through it. And it’s that experience that’s only made him appreciate the moment he’s set to step into ahead of Saturday’s Game 1.
“As a kid, you dream of playing just one game in the NHL, so I wouldn’t say it’s hard,” explained Hill of the difficulty he’s faced throughout his climb up the ranks.
“I mean, it’s been a lot of hard work. A lot of ups and downs in injuries, trades, and that stuff. But, I mean, it’s a great life. I’ve enjoyed every year of it, and I’m having a good time.”
Make no mistake, Hill is absolutely the backbone of this Golden Knights team. They simply would not be here without him.
Since taking over the starter’s reigns from Laurent Broissoit midway through Vegas’ second-round series versus the Edmonton Oilers, the Comox, B.C. native has put together a stretch of play that, were it not for Sergei Bobrovsky’s historical run, would be the talk of the town.
In 11 appearances so far this post-season, Hill currently rocks a ridiculous .937 save percentage that leads all NHL goalies. His two shutouts, the first coming in his first-ever post-season start and the second in the game that booked Vegas’ ticket to the Cup final, rank first amongst his colleagues, as well. And then there are Hill’s fancy stats, a sterling collection of numbers headlined by the whopping 10.4 goals-saved-above-average he’s turned aside to propel the Golden Knights past every opponent they’ve faced.
For a guy who was more or less booted to the curb by one of the NHL’s bottom dwellers in late August for a fourth-round draft pick two years down the road, that ain’t bad.
As it turns out, that booting helped save Vegas’ season.
“We got the news about Robin later in the summer,” explained Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon of franchise goaltender Robin Lehner’s season-ending hip injury last offseason that spurred Hill’s arrival.
“So, the free agency window had effectively closed, any trade opportunities that may have been available were no longer. And there was a lot of support in our organization for Adin Hill, which is why we made the move with San Jose to acquire him.”
The belief in Hill’s ability has seemingly always been there. So, to his teammates, his success isn’t all too surprising, either.
“I’m not really paying attention to the radar, so I’m not really sure if he’s flown under it,” laughed Hill’s goaltending partner, Jonathan Quick.
“But it’s no surprise in our locker room how well he’s playing, and how much he means to each and every game we’ve had success in
“It’s not just what he’s done over the past month and a half to get our team to where it is, it’s what he’s done over his career leading up to this,” Quick continued, making sure to note how hands-off he’s been in Hill’s progression since arriving in Vegas at the deadline.
“It’s fun to watch, fun to see him have success in pressure situations and we hope he keeps it going.”
Hill credits his ability to disconnect off the ice for how he’s able to handle the pressure that faces him on it. Aside from partaking in the typical hockey player extracurriculars such as golf, Hill fashions himself an avid lover of video games, focusing primarily on “shooter” titles while also serving as a key member of an EASHL team he’s with his friends in NHL 23.
A hockey player playing a hockey game in his off time might not sound like disconnecting. But Hill has that covered. In real life, he plays goal. In the online world, he’s a right-shot defenseman. Disconnect achieved.
In fact, gaming may exist as more of an outlet for Hill than an oasis.
“I try to stay calm and play video games. And once in a while, I’ll get mad doing it,” he laughed.
“But it’s like one second. Quick. And then I’m good. But it’s just kind of my demeanor with everything. Just kind of calm, relaxed.”
That demeanor will be put to the test on Friday when Hill steps into the Stanley Cup pressure cooker and prepares to lead Vegas to heights the franchise has never experienced before. It’s a daunting task despite his recent success. But as far as Hill is concerned, it’s nothing a few broken controllers can’t solve.