Anton Khudobin of the Dallas Stars is a brilliant goaltender known for making electrifying saves, clutch performances, and a calmness in the net.  Coming off a season where he played a career-high 41 games with a dazzling .923 save percentage, Khudobin was a major factor in the Dallas Stars’ success.  He is spending his off-season in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, enjoying some well deserved rest, while constantly preparing himself for next season.

Khudobin’s hockey journey is truly remarkable and is the textbook definition of putting in hard work over long periods of time to get to where he is.

Born in Kazakhstan, Khudobin was seven years old when his parents first put him on the ice. “My dad played hockey, not as a professional but in a regular league,” recalls Khudobin.  “As a child, I would try on equipment and show interest in hockey. My parents signed me up to play and I loved it. It was a family effort with my grandma, mother, father, aunt, and uncle all taking me to my hockey practices.”

Growing up, he was always drawn to the goaltenders and looked up to famous Russians Nikolai Khabibulin and Evgeni Nabokov as well as the legendary Hall of Famer, Martin Brodeur. “Nabokov actually really helped me. When I was a kid, he came to Kazakhstan and taught us. I still remember the warm-up before games he showed us and to this day, I do it pretty much the same way as he demonstrated.”

At the age of 13, the Khudobin family made the tough decision to move from Kazakhstan to Russia so that Anton could progress to the next level of his hockey development. “The way it happened was that my trainer in Kazakhstan was called to Metallurg Magnitogorsk to coach there. He decided he wanted to bring several of his players there with him. I was one of them along with another goalie and 10 players. At the time, of course, it was tough.  I was only 13 and had to leave home and didn’t really understand what I was doing. I followed through and made the move to Russia with my parents. Everything worked out for the best.”

Khudobin went on to play for the renown Metallurg Magnitogorsk system with the likes of Evgeni Malkin and has many fond memories from his junior career in Russia including winning his first medal from playing in the Championship of Russia tournament as well as being named best goalie.

During his junior career, he represented Russia’s National Junior team, earning a gold medal at the 2004 IIHF World Under-18 Championships, and silver medals at the 2005 and 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. Khudobin fondly remembers winning Gold in 2004, even scoring a goal against Finland when the Finns pulled their goalie. It was while playing for the World- Under 18 team when he was scouted by the Minnesota Wild.

“It was early in the morning and a scout called my agent and said to him that I had been drafted to the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round, 206th overall. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the news.  I didn’t really know about first, second, or third rounds so I was just happy being selected. It meant now I had a chance to make it to the NHL.”

In 2005, Khudobin took the next big step in his quest to reach the NHL by coming over from Russia to play in the Western Hockey League with the Saskatoon Blades.  “I felt that I already outgrew the league I was playing in back home. I discussed with my agent and he explained that I can go play somewhere in the CHL (Canadian Hockey League). I made the decision to do so. I came over to Saskatoon and had a wonderful billet family who was also Russian and to this day I am still very close with them. They helped me so much in making the adjustment to North America. Initially, there was the language barrier to overcome when first coming over to a new country. I had a fierce desire to learn English and my teammates helped me a lot. I picked up the language quite quickly. It was a good year.  Devin Setoguchi was one of my teammates on the Blades that season.”

After a year with the Blades, Khudobin went back to play in Russia, this time for the topmost club of Metallurg.  “I knew I would come back to Russia.  I really liked playing in North America but I had a contract with Matallurg and as per my agreement, I had to return to them. I completed the final year of my contract and then came back to North America the following year after signing an NHL contract with the Wild.

His first five seasons playing at the professional level were primarily spent between the ECHL and American Hockey League (AHL) and he attributes his time honing his skills in the development leagues towards his current success at the NHL level. “I would say the AHL really helped prepare me for the NHL.  I still needed to adapt and get acclimatized to North American hockey. Playing in the ECHL then AHL really helped me understand what is required to play in the NHL. The kind of shots, the speed of the game, and what the demands are to be a professional athlete.”

He made his NHL debut during the 2009-10 season, seeing action in two games with the Wild, posting a 2-0 record.  However, coming over from Minnesota to Boston in 2011 was a monumental moment in Khudobin’s career.  During his first season within the Bruins organization he was fortunate to experience the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup playoff run.  “I was very close to the team. I watched everything from the side and observed how players and coaches prepared for the games. I understood that the Stanley Cup playoffs is unlike any other hockey. It is not just going out and playing, there is so much more at stake. Some players in their whole career never win the Stanley Cup. So the experience from that year was crucial for me to really understand the NHL and what it takes to endure the Stanley Cup playoffs.”

Khudobin has also been fortunate to be part of some exceptional goalie tandems in the NHL, including Ben Bishop with the Dallas Stars and prior to that with Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins. “As a goalie, you always look at the other goalie as your partner. I have known Tuukka since we were 17 years old and played against each other in tournaments. He has an amazing glove, great movement in the net and strong legs to push off side to side.  With Ben Bishop, he reads the game so well, he also has an amazing glove and he uses his great height and size to his advantage which makes him a very unique goalie. I watch Ben, how he prepares for games, how he trains and what he works on. Both of them are amazing goalies in their own ways. As a goalie, you can watch other goalies and take a little bit here and there from them and apply it to your game. That said, you can’t change your own game completely, because you are your own individual goalie with your own head and abilities.”

Now a veteran of over 12 seasons at the pro level, Khudobin explains how his game has evolved over the years.  “Every year the league grows and as a goalie you need to adapt.  It can be how to position your glove, how to place your stick, how to put your pads down in a certain situation. In this league, every year you have to get better in order to stay in it. Making this league is hard in its own right, but staying in it is also very difficult. That is why you are always working on improving and never getting complacent.”

Khudobin plays with a flare which stands out in today’s NHL. “My style is universal or a mix of styles.  A bit stand-up, some classic technique, and some butterfly. I use my hockey IQ to play in a way that is the most effective to stop the puck. This stems back to my childhood where my trainer said to me, ‘It is not important how you will stop the puck, it is important that you catch the puck.’”

Khudobin played arguably the best hockey of his career this past season with the Dallas Stars and stepped up in a huge way when Ben Bishop was injured earlier in the season. “I always said, the more that I play the more comfortable I feel. This season what really stood out to me was a game against Nashville where it was a personal record in my career stopping 49 shots for the shut out. That is a very high number of shots in one game. The whole season for me felt steady, I felt good playing with Ben, and when he got hurt, I just went on the ice and did my job.”

Khudobin has been enjoying his offseason and has already been on the ice several times. “I enjoy playing soccer with my friends, going ATVing and rollerblading. Soon my friends and I will grab the Sea-dos and ride on the water. I am enjoying my time in my home country and in nature. This is a great way to recharge and have full energy and strength for next season.”

On and off the ice, Khudobin is one of the most humble and polite individuals in the game. Even hockey analyst Pierre McGuire touched on this during a broadcast this past season.  “It is my upbringing from my parents. They taught me to always be respectful, modest, and a good person.  This is very important to me.”

He is also passionate about helping the community and being involved with charitable causes. He is currently in talks with the NHLPA to help organize a hockey equipment drive for less fortunate kids in Russia.  He has also helped organize sledge hockey events, and was an ambassador for Russian Heritage Night in the NHL which connects the Russian community and players together and invites everyone to enjoy and experience Russian culture.

Coming off a career year, Dallas Stars fans have a lot to be excited about.  The team has a bright future and can take with them their experience from this season’s playoffs into next year. “The best lesson for the team is not thinking too far away but keep focused and step by step work towards the goal of competing for a Stanley Cup.”

As a word of advice to young goalies trying to one day reach the NHL, Khudobin says, “When you sign a contract, you may not make the NHL right away. You will likely need to go through the AHL or ECHL and learn to play, gain confidence in yourself, and feel comfortable.  Keep going.  The most important thing is not to give up on your journey to the NHL.”