Jake Hildebrand

Jake Hildebrand (born June 19, 1993) is an American ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for the Eisbären Berlin of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Playing career In 2012, Hildebrand enrolled at Michigan State University to play NCAA Men's Division I college hockey with the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference. In his junior year, Hildebrand's outstanding play was recognized when he was selected the 2014–15 Big Ten Best Goaltender and Big Ten Player of the Year. He was also named to the NCAA (West) First All-American Team. At the end of his 2015–16 season with the Spartans, he signed with the Allen Americans of the ECHL.

As a free agent embarking on his professional career, Hildebrand agreed to a one-year contract with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League on June 15, 2016. In the 2016–17 season, Hildebrand appeared in just 3 games with the IceHogs as a depth goaltender, appearing primarily with the ECHL affiliate Indy Fuel.

Unable to mark an impression with the IceHogs, Hildebrand left as a free agent and signed a one-year deal to continue in the ECHL with the Tulsa Oilers on August 3, 2017. In the 2017–18 season, Hildebrand assumed starting goaltender duties, appearing in 44 games with the Oilers and posting a .901 save percentage.

In the off-season, Hildebrand was traded by the Oilers to the Kalamazoo Wings in exchange for Scott Henegar on July 24, 2018.

With the Wings going on hiatus for the pandemic-affected 2020–21 season, Hildebrand was signed as a free agent by the Florida Everblades of the ECHL on January 12, 2021. In the delayed 2020-21 season, Hildebrand established career highs and was the standout goaltender in the league, posting 23 wins and a 2.40 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage to be named the ECHL Goaltender of the Year.

Helping Frankfurt gain promotion to the DEL for the following 2022–23 season, Hildebrand posted 22 wins through 50 regular season games with Frankfurt in their first season in the top tier. After their defeat in the playoff qualifiers to Düsseldorfer EG, Hildebrand left Löwen Frankfurt at the end of his contract on March 19, 2023.

On June 13, 2023, Hildebrand opted to remain in the DEL, signing a one-year contract with Eisbären Berlin for the 2023–24 season.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2009–10 Sioux City Musketeers USHL 4 1 1 0 190 8 0 2.52 .912 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Sioux City Musketeers USHL 21 8 9 1 1139 51 0 2.69 .901 — — — — — — — — 2011-12 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 43 20 14 7 2428 113 2 2.79 .913 2 0 2 125 8 0 3.84 900 2012–13 Michigan State University CCHA 29 9 17 2 1659 65 2 2.35 .928 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Michigan State University CCHA 32 9 15 7 1891 77 2 2.44 .923 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Michigan State University CCHA 35 17 16 2 2094 76 6 2.18 .930 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Michigan State University CCHA 37 10 22 3 2133 111 3 3.12 .904 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Allen Americans ECHL 6 5 1 0 364 14 0 2.31 .925 8 3 2 344 20 0 3.49 .894 2016–17 Indy Fuel ECHL 47 18 21 5 2671 167 4 3.75 .899 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 Rockford IceHogs AHL 3 0 1 1 131 10 0 4.58 .868 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 Tulsa Oilers ECHL 44 16 18 7 2367 132 0 3.35 .901 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 46 21 18 2 2447 146 1 3.58 .890 5 2 3 273 10 1 2.20 .913 2019–20 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 39 16 18 4 2296 134 1 3.50 .889 — — — — — — — — 2020–21 Florida Everblades ECHL 40 23 10 5 2380 95 2 2.40 .923 5 2 3 274 15 0 3.28 .885 2021–22 Löwen Frankfurt DEL2 34 24 10 0 2034 68 5 2.01 .930 12 12 0 726 19 2 1.57 .947 2022–23 Löwen Frankfurt DEL 50 22 26 0 2943 137 1 2.79 .912 2 0 2 118 10 0 5.06 .836 2023–24 Eisbären Berlin DEL 37 26 10 0 2197 86 3 2.35 .916 15 12 3 973 31 1 1.91 .936 2024–25 Eisbären Berlin DEL 35 23 12 0 2122 102 1 2.88 .890 9 8 1 553 7 4 0.76 .968 ECHL totals 222 99 86 23 12,525 688 8 3.30 .901 18 7 7 891 45 1 3.03 .897

Awards and honors Award YearCollege Big Ten Best Goaltender 2014–15 Big Ten Player of the Year 2014–15 Big Ten First All-Star Team 2014–15 NCAA (West) First All-American Team 2014–15 ECHLAll-ECHL First Team 2020–21 Goaltender of the Year 2020–21 DEL2 Champions (Löwen Frankfurt) 2022 DEL Champions (Eisbären Berlin) 2024, 2025, 2026