Joel Hofer
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Joel Hofer (born July 30, 2000) is a Canadian professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...
currently playing for the
St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
of the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL). He was drafted by the Blues in the fourth round, 107th overall, in the 2018 NHL entry draft. He made his NHL debut in 2021 with the Blues.


Playing career

Hofer first played major junior hockey in the
Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...
(WHL) with the
Swift Current Broncos The Swift Current Broncos are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1967, the Broncos relocated to Lethbridge, Alberta in 1974, and were known as the Lethbridge Broncos, before returning to S ...
. He initially served as backup goaltender to Stuart Skinner, and participated in the team's Ed Chynoweth Cup victory in the 2017–18 season. He subsequently emerged as a starting goaltender and was traded to the
Portland Winterhawks The Portland Winterhawks are a junior ice hockey team based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1950 as the Edmonton Oil Kings, the team relocated to Portland in 1976 and was known as the Winter Hawks until 2009. The team plays in the U.S. Divisio ...
, where he spent the remainder of his junior career. In the 2019–20 season, his final one with the Winterhawks, Hofer was named to the Western Conference's Second All-Star Team. Following his selection by the
St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
in the 2018 NHL entry draft, Hofer was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract on March 22, 2019. During the season, Hofer was recalled from AHL affiliate, the
Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a professional ice hockey team based in Springfield, Massachusetts. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. The Thunderbirds play their home games at th ...
, and made his NHL debut on November 5, 2021 against the
San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...
, where he tallied an assist in the 5–3 win. Upon making his debut at the age of 21 years, 97 days, he became the youngest goaltender to win his NHL debut with the Blues. While playing with the Thunderbirds during the Calder Cup playoffs, Hofer scored a goal against the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as the WBS Penguins) are a professional ice hockey team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Pengui ...
on May 12. This was the first instance of an AHL goaltender physically scoring a goal. Entering his final year of his entry-level contract in 2022–23, Hofer was re-assigned to continue his development in the AHL. He enjoyed success with the Thunderbirds, and at the end of the season was named to the league's Second All-Star Team. He played the third-most minutes of any AHL goaltender that season. On January 3, 2023, Hofer was signed by the Blues to a two-year, one-way contract extension worth $1.55 million.


International play

Hofer was invited to make his international debut for Canada with the national junior team after attending the selection camp for the
2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2020 WJHC'') was the 44th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship, held from 26 December 2019 to 5 January 2020. Canada defeated Russia 4–3 to win the gold medal and their 18th wor ...
. He was not initially Team Canada's starting goaltender, that position occupied by Nico Daws. After Daws allowed four goals on the first 17 shots of the team's second game of the tournament against
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, Hofer relieved him midgame. He allowed two goals on 22 shots, and was thereafter given the net. Team Canada went on a deep run to the championship final, a rematch with Russia, where Hofer made 35 saves on 38 shots in Canada's gold medal win. He was given the
IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...
directorate award for Best Goaltender of the tournament, as well as named to the events Media All-Star Team. Following his successful
2022–23 AHL season The 2022–23 AHL season was the 87th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 14, 2022, and ended on April 16, 2023. The 2023 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season, and began on April ...
, Hofer was invited to join the senior national team at the
2023 IIHF World Championship The 2023 IIHF World Championship was co-hosted by Tampere, Finland, and Riga, Latvia. The tournament was held from 12 to 28 May 2023, organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Canada men's national ice hockey team, Canada won ...
. He made his first appearance on May 17 against
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, where he allowed one goal on 17 shots in Team Canada's 5–1 win. He ultimately appeared in two of ten tournament games, managing a .925 save percentage, while Team Canada won the gold medal. The following year, he rejoined the team for the 2024 IIHF World Championship as one of its three goaltenders, alongside Blues teammate Jordan Binnington and former World Junior teammate Daws.


Career statistics


Regular season and playoffs


International


Awards and honours


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hofer, Joel 2000 births Living people Canadian people of Austrian descent Canadian people of Swiss descent Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Portland Winterhawks players San Antonio Rampage players Springfield Thunderbirds players St. Louis Blues draft picks St. Louis Blues players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Swift Current Broncos players Utica Comets players