Regina-born goalie heading to San Jose Sharks.

Dubnyk making the most out of his career.

After the massive goalie swap-a-rama that took place earlier in the month, it’s going to be a bit difficult for fans to figure out who ended up where. When it comes to the actual transitions however, the trade season was filled with some interesting acquisitions and moves, whether it be the Washington Capitals picking up “The King” Henrik Lundqvist, Matt Murray finding a spot on the Ottawa Senators roster, Corey Crawford joining the New Jersey Devils squad, or finally, the subject of this article, Regina’s own Devan Dubnyk.

The Regina-born goalie is no longer a member of the Minnesota Wild but is now part of the San Jose Sharks. Dubnyk, who was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, 14th overall, has had quite the journey in his professional career. Having now been involved in the league for 16 years, Dubnyk has played the role of goaltender for franchises such as the Arizona Coyotes, the Nashville Predators, and most notably, the Minnesota Wild.

During his run with the Minnesota Wild, Dubnyk found significant success. In 2016, 2017 and 2019, he was featured in the NHL All-Star Games, as well, he set a Wild franchise record with the most consecutive starts on the team at 38 overall. Other accomplishments of Dubnyk’s include earning the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his work in the Wild organization, setting another franchise record for most wins (40) in 2016-17, and also winning gold in the 2006 World Juniors. However, despite all of the success, a down year (which involved Dubnyk’s wife going through a serious illness) caused the Sharks to jump in and sign Dubnyk.

Moving from career to actual transition, Ben Guerrero, the San Jose Sharks’ Director of Media Relations, was kind enough to provide statements from Dubnyk about his arrival to the Shark’s organizations. Dubynk, in his first presser as a Shark, commented on the adjustment that comes with moving NHL teams and his conversation with current Sharks general manager, Doug Wilson.

“It’s been a stressful week obviously, when you find out, but with the conversations that I’ve had, mainly with Doug and the staff … just hear nothing but good things. The more we spoke with Doug and other people, the more comfortable we were and realized this is an extremely exciting opportunity with a great organization…”

In a comment to The Athletic, Dubnyk also stated where he was headspace-wise, given the reason for his down season, and how that affected him moving forward.

“It was extremely difficult for many reasons, you know, a lot of it was public but it was something that I had to go through, unfortunately. But fortunately everybody is okay, we’ve had a chance to reset and get things back to normal.”

As well, Dubnyk then discussed, in the same quote, what it was like to come back after everything.

“I was excited coming back from the pause, to go into the playoffs, I felt like I was able to have a bit more of a clear mind and get back to the way I was feeling … Certainly was battling questions all year about it, but I know for a fact I certainly didn’t forget how to stop the puck…”

Moving forward, Regina sports fanatics will just have to wait and see how Dubnyk looks during the next season.