WALLED LAKE, Mich. – All the way from the quiet cul-de-sacs of Walled Lake to the roaring Olympic ice hockey arena, Michigan’s own Connor Hellebuyck helped bring Team USA a historic gold medal on Sunday.
But, every pro starts somewhere. Local 4 caught up with someone special who knew Hellebuyck before he was the country’s star goaltender.
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In 2011, a young Hellebuyck wasn’t yet an Olympian, he was a senior at Walled Lake Northern High School going to class with Mr. Conti.
“This team sports class took place in 2011, so Connor would have a senior,” former Walled Lake Northern High School teacher Nick Conti said.
Conti was a teacher for over four decades and spent his last 12 years at the high school.
On the docket for the semester was a “team sports” class. The plan was to rotate through a number of team sports throughout the semester.
But then all-state hockey star Hellebuyck had a different, yet fitting, request.
“He came up to me and he said, “Mr. Conti, a bunch of guys would just like to play floor hockey,’” Conti said.
Not ready to change his lesson plans, Conti needed some more convincing.
“I said, ‘For the entire semester?’ He goes, ‘Yeah.’ I go, ‘I’m not so sure about that.’ He said, ‘Mr. Conti, there will be no horsing around. We’ll put the equipment away at the end of the hour, you won’t have a thing to worry about,’” Conti said.
Conti told Hellebuyck that they’d give it a try.
“The funny thing about the whole thing … Connor played one position, and one position only, for the entire semester,” Conti said. “He got a baseball glove and was working on his goalie gyrations playing floor hockey.”
All these years later, from the gym floor to the world stage, Conti has followed his career closely, watching the floor hockey goalie turn into a gold medalist.
“It was thrilling in large part because I remembered him as such a good kid. So, it’s easy to cheer for him,” Conti said.