Following EA Sport’s announcements of their top 10 left and right defencemen and wingers in NHL 26, on Wednesday, August 27th, they released their top 10 goaltenders. With no surprise, Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck finds himself right at the top of the list.

Hellebuyck comes in as the number one goalie in the game with a 94 overall rating. Following him is Andrei Vasilevskiy (2nd, 93), Igor Shesterkin (3rd, 92), Ilya Sorokin (4th, 91), Sergei Bobrovsky (5th, 90), Jake Oettinger (6th, 90), Filip Gustavsson (7th, 89), Thatcher Demko (8th, 88), Juuse Saros (9th, 88), and last but not least, Los Angeles Kings goaltender Darcy Kuemper (10th, 87).

This marks the second straight year that Hellebuyck has been crowned the best goalie in the NHL video game franchise. Last year, he held the top spot with a 93 overall, and this year his rating gets bumped to a 94.

The top three remains unchanged in terms of names, but Vasilevskiy managed to jump over Shesterkin to claim the second spot. Shesterkin holds steady at a 92 overall, while Vasilevskiy improves from a 92 to a 93.

The bump Hellebuyck received is a reflection of just how dominant he was during the 2024–25 NHL season. Night after night, he gave the Jets a chance to win, all while stacking up the hardware that continues to cement him as one of the best goaltenders of his era. With Vezina-caliber numbers and a reputation as the backbone of Winnipeg’s success, it’s no surprise EA rewarded him with the top spot.

For Jets fans, seeing Hellebuyck sitting at No. 1 in NHL 26 might not change much—at the end of the day, it’s just a video game—but it definitely makes firing up the controller a lot more fun knowing your team’s starter is the best in the game at his position.