Linus Ullmark, Jeremy Swayman and the grandpa behind the Bruins perpetual goalie success

BRIGHTON, Mass. — Jim Montgomery knows one thing about his goaltending for Thursday’s regular-season finale against the Canadiens: Linus Ullmark, who left Tuesday’s 5-2 win over the Capitals in the third period because of an undisclosed injury, will not be in net. Ullmark did not travel with the team to Montreal.

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“Linus is good today,” Montgomery said after the Bruins’ Wednesday practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “But we’re going to be precautionary with him.”

As for whether Jeremy Swayman or emergency call-up Brandon Bussi will take the wheel for Game 82, Montgomery did not have a starter to announce. Goaltending coach Bob Essensa had yet to make up his mind. And when it comes to all things netminding, Montgomery classifies decisions as TBD — with a twist.

“TBDBB,” Montgomery said with a laugh recently. “To be decided by Bob.”

It signals the degree of trust Montgomery has in Essensa. The goaltending coach, whom everyone knows as Goalie Bob, has earned every bit of it.

“I’m never going to do a real deep dive and understand the techniques. Because that’s why you have goalie coaches. That’s their job,” Montgomery said. “But just the mental side of, ‘What’s it like to play back-to-back games? What’s it like to go into an arena where you’ve played before, like Ullmark going in Buffalo?’ That’s stuff I learn from him. Sometimes when we watch other goals go in, I’m like, ‘Is that a bad goal? Is that a good goal?’ I’m always asking those types of questions so I can learn a little bit. Because I have my ideas.

“I find that oftentimes, my ideas are wrong after talking with Goalie Bob.”

Building a legacy

The Bruins have allowed a league-low 170 goals in 2022-23. Unless things really go sideways against the Canadiens — to the tune of allowing 36-plus goals — Ullmark and Swayman will share the Jennings Trophy, awarded annually to the goalies for the NHL’s stingiest team. 

Via traditional statistics, Ullmark should take home this season’s Vezina Trophy. His 40 wins, .938 save percentage and 1.89 goals-against average all lead the league. If he wins the award, he would join Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask as Vezina victors since Essensa became goalie coach on Sept. 9, 2003. During this segment, Essensa’s 23 goalies have combined for a .918 save percentage, the highest of any team. 

Part of the Bruins’ stinginess comes from their defensive infrastructure. Five-time Selke Trophy winner Patrice Bergeron, perhaps the best defensive forward of all time, made the roster the same season Essensa came on board. Zdeno Chara signed in 2006. Montgomery follows Claude Julien and Bruce Cassidy, two coaches who shared his rare commitment to checking.

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It is no coincidence, though, that Essensa has been the constant. Bussi, undrafted out of Western Michigan, signed a one-year free-agent contract with the Bruins because of the organization’s track record in developing goalies.

“It speaks for itself,” Ullmark said of Essensa’s results. “How many Vezina Trophies do his goalies have throughout the years?”

That Essensa has expressed peak performance out of puck-stopping variants like Thomas, Rask, Ullmark and Swayman — other pupils include Manny Fernandez, Felix Potvin and Chad Johnson — captures the foundation of his work. When it comes to technique, there is little that a whirling dervish like Thomas, a specimen like Rask, a 6-foot-5 hulk like Ullmark and a technical hotshot like Swayman have in common. But Essensa’s mandate is to stitch together his philosophy with the toolboxes goalies bring upon arrival.

“We’re here for a reason,” said Swayman. “We went through the ranks. We learned. All of us have experience in different ways. He makes our own style unique to us. He just helps us with different situations.”

Sometimes, the goalies aren’t buying what Essensa’s selling.

It was that way at first with Ullmark as he transitioned from Buffalo to Boston in 2021. Ullmark had been a push-stop goalie who powered to his spots and squared up to pucks. Essensa believed that by incorporating backflow, Ullmark could stay healthier and get to the rebounds he left behind. 

Ullmark did not initially agree.

“We’ve butted heads — not just a couple times,” Ullmark said. “A fair amount of times in this two-year period. We’re still going to do it. That’s how I want it. I don’t want just a yaysayer or a naysayer. I want to have that back-and-forth conversation and feel like, ‘OK, if this doesn’t work, we should try this.’ Maybe if he sees something, I want him to be honest and say, ‘Hey, this doesn’t work. We have to do this.’ Just have that trust and honesty toward each other. No BS. Because if you start bulls—ing, you can’t really hold each other accountable. Are they honest with me or not?

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“One of the first things I told him was, ‘I’m going to be honest. I need this from you and I want this from you. I might get pissed at you. But it’s nothing personal. I might get pissed at your drills. But just remember I’m not pissed at you. It’s the drill in itself sometimes.’”

Time and practice helped convince Ullmark that Essensa was correct. The goalie coach’s delivery played a part in Ullmark’s turnaround.

A new technique helped put Linus Ullmark in the Vezina class.

The trick was getting him to believe in it. https://t.co/NLm2uattnL

— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) April 4, 2023

Essensa is not the type to raise his voice. The 446-game NHL veteran has a cool, friendly and wry temperament. He is quick with a quip, which goes a long way in defusing the tension that NHL goalies know too well.

“I never had a grandpa. But he certainly has that vibe to it,” said Ullmark. “Just a lovable character that does his thing and has done it well for a lot of years in this community and for this team and organization.”

Word got back to Essensa of Ullmark’s description. The 58-year-old did not appear to mind.

“I heard Linus called me a grandfather,” Essensa said.

Then he laughed. Staying in a good mood, it seems, is Essensa’s key to longevity.

‘One of the most noble jobs’

In 2017-18, Cassidy’s first full season as head coach, Essensa was tasked with priming Rask and Anton Khudobin. Swayman was an 18-year-old University of Maine freshman. Essensa still insisted the teenager call him at any time.

“He would be super receptive, which meant a lot as a prospect,” said Swayman. “Because he’s got plenty to do at the NHL level and AHL level. I’m over here calling him in college. It’s pretty special. I knew right away he was going to help me in the long run.

“He keeps things simple. The video sessions we have are pretty straightforward and understood. There’s no gray area, which I really appreciate as a goalie.”

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Swayman listed improved post integration, adjusting to dot-line action and reading low-to-high plays as some of the areas in which he’s felt improvement under Essensa. He is not as aggressive as he was earlier in his career. Patience is more a part of his skill set. 

Swayman, 24, is a more well-rounded goalie now than when he debuted as a 22-year-old in 2020-21. That was Essensa’s objective.

“All a coach wants to do is help you get better. It’s one of the most noble jobs in the history of jobs,” said Swayman. “It’s really amazing. A coach is there to get their players better. If Bob sees something, I’m going to take it seriously, really dissect it and be like, ‘I’m going to make to implement this in my game.’ Because I know it’s going to help me. So I don’t say that lightly. Everything he says has true meaning and value behind it.”

The Hockey Hall of Fame includes 113 builders. None of them are goalie coaches. 

Ullmark does not care for that omission.

“I think it’s shameful that there’s not a goaltending coach in the Hall of Fame,” Ullmark said. “We need more of those. Not one. I really think they should start getting those credits. Bobby for my first vote.”

Hall of Fame consideration is not on Essensa’s radar. His job is to optimize Ullmark and Swayman for what is to come. Pleasure with their improvements may take place then.

“It’ll give me satisfaction if we’re playing until mid-June and we throw another banner in the rafters,” said Essensa. “Absolutely, that will give me satisfaction. I’m just happy they’ve had success to this point. They have a terrific competitive environment. That’s all, as a goalie coach, I can ask for.”

(Top photo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

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