Jeremy Swayman will still have to prove himself all over again when Bruins' training camp opens again in September (new coach TBD).
He'll have to prove that he's the goalie that showed enough promise to demand and receive an eight-year, $66 million contract last summer, and not the guy who then proceeded to post a 22-29-7 record with a career-worst (by far) .892 save percentage and 3.11 goals against average.
Yes, Swayman will have a lot to prove in a couple of months. But he will attempt to do so with some well-earned confidence that comes with the gold medal he earned in the World Championships, topped off by his 25-save 1-0 overtime victory over the Swiss last Sunday.
Speaking with a couple of reporters in the Warrior Ice Arena locker room on Wednesday, Swayman exuded the satisfaction - and relief, really - that he felt from capturing the first meaningful title in his life. He had one blip in the qualifying round, allowing a four-goal comeback by Norway before the Americans won it in OT, but he was stellar otherwise, posting a 7-0 record with a .921 save percentage and 1.61 GAA, leading Team USA to its first gold since 1933.
"Every time I've put on the Team USA jersey it's been an unbelievable experience. And to finally get it done, to see it through and get a gold medal at the end of an event, that makes everything worth it," said Swayman, still a bit weary from the trans-Atlantic flight and, of course, the requisite celebration. "It was more than a championship for me personally. It was just all the hard work and all the times I've come close to championships, to finally get it done, especially with this group and the setting that we were in. And obviously, since 1933, it felt a lot bigger than just a World Championship. It was a long time coming and it was a great thing to be a part of."
Swayman said the overall experience was life-enriching, not just by winning the gold but the people he got to meet and bounce ideas off, including the head coach, Marshfield's Ryan Warsofsky. With it being an Olympic year, the tourney - often overlooked here in North America - took on some added importance, with several rosters stacked with high-end NHLers. And it was an affirming experience for his own game.
"It shows that I can do it. It shows that I can get a championship done and be a part of a team where everyone was pulling the rope," said Swayman, who had played in the World Championship, World Junior Championships and last February's 4 Nations teams for the US. "Again, I've come so close in many different times in my life and to finally get it done, it's a lot of weight off your back, a lot of weight off your shoulders and that was something that I could finally say to myself and anyone I talk to that I know how to be a champion. That, for me, was a new beginning."
On the ice and in interviews, the Alaska native has radiated confidence and positivity, even when it's hard for the outside world to see. But he admitted that took a bit of a hit from last season's underwhelming performance.
"The ups and downs of the season definitely took a toll, with the outside noise I was facing with personal matters and, of course, with the team. We weren't getting results and I felt like I was going to the rink every day and doing what I needed to do and I still just wasn't getting results," said Swayman, who shared the gold with Bruin teammates Andrew Peeke and Mason Lohrei. "I had to dig in deeper. I had to find different ways to win and feel good on the ice. This was just a great way for me to do it and I couldn't have done it without going through those ups and downs of this year. And that's what I really got to realize. I'm so thankful that I went through this, with this team. We always fell forward. That was the best part of this season. None of us fell backwards. We all fell forward. And that was a lot of confidence I gained going into this tournament. Listen, I've been through the wringer. I've seen both sides, of success and failure, and what can I do now with the experience that I have to make sure I don't fail. I brought that energy into this tournament and had the right formula with our coaching staff and game plan and, of course, my teammates. That was why I felt rebirthed in a way because I could finally see and feel what it takes to win."
The challenge and pressure of living up to the contract, which had the added feature of being one of the more contentiously public negotiations for the Bruins in recent years, was difficult to battle at times.
"That goes into the category of the outside noise that I was facing," said Swayman. "I expect so much out of myself, I want nothing but team success. I want nothing but success for the Bruins, success for this city. And when I wasn't living up to that, I took it so personally then. It was the hardest thing ever, to face letting other people down. That for me was the hardest challenge. And not having confidence, walking down the street worried about what other people were thinking, what other people were saying. That's not who I am. That's not who Jeremy is. And I just said '(Expletive) that.' I'm going to carry myself with the demeanor of 'I'm here for a reason. I'm here to help this team win and I'm going to go out and be who I am.' And that was a turning point for me in this tournament, walking down streets in Denmark and Sweden getting stopped by random people in a different country, asking for autographs and pictures. Two weeks ago, I would have been like 'Why?' And I just changed my mindset. I was like 'This is why, because I can have an impact on people and have an impact on the game of hockey.' And it's an incredible opportunity. And I have to enjoy and embrace it and that's exactly what I did. And then, boom, I was back. It was pretty amazing."
Whether it will be that simple once camp starts remains to be seen. Swayman plans to spend most of the summer in Boston working out, with maybe a trip or two to the mountains. He feels that the issues he had in his game last season were more between his ears and not in any technical aspect of his netminding.
"I truly felt that it was a total mindset thing," said Swayman. "I know that I could play at this level. I know I could have success at this level but my mindset was something that was challenged this year and that's something for me that I got to experience with this tournament, was that if I get my mid it's pretty hard to score on me. And that was something that I could really build on."