To see Caleb Heil wearing blue and stopping pucks as his team works toward a championship just feels right to Minnesota hockey fans of a certain age. As much as anything, the 19-year-old goalie who backstopped two of Team USA’s first three wins at the World Juniors this week was born into the trade.

United States goalie Caleb Heil looks on during the third period of an IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship game against Germany, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Fans of a certain age can recall the powerhouse Bloomington Jefferson teams of the early 1990s that won three consecutive Minnesota state championships and sent more than a dozen players on to college hockey. Wearing a different shade of blue and stopping pucks for the Jaguars was Jeff Heil, Caleb’s father.

“When I was younger, he would always pull out the Jefferson state tournament picture books that my grandma made for him,” Caleb recalled on Tuesday, as Team USA enjoyed an off day before their New Years’ Eve showdown with Sweden. “I’d look through those and watch the old tapes. It was pretty fun.”

In addition to his work in red, white and blue, the younger Heil is playing in Madison for the USHL’s Capitols this winter. And he is currently sharing a locker room with Maple Grove’s Will Zellers, who has been the surprise offensive star for the Americans so far. It’s something they plan to do next season as well, with Zellers currently in his freshman year at North Dakota and Heil committed to join the Fighting Hawks next season.

“We trust him. He’s an unbelievable goalie,” said Zellers, reflecting on the team’s 6-5 win over Slovakia, where Team USA found itself trailing 2-0 after the first period. “Those are two pretty good shots that they had there, so making sure he’s good and making sure he’s not getting too low. We had 40 minutes of hockey left to play.”

Growing up in the Chaska-Chanhassen youth hockey system, Heil left home after bantams to play AAA hockey in South Dakota, then moved up to the USHL, first in Sioux Falls and now in his second season with Madison.

During one of his stints with USA Hockey, playing in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup in Europe, Heil’s goalie coach was former North Dakota star Karl Goering, who helped steer his future toward Grand Forks and the palatial Ralph Engelstad Arena, which is considered college hockey’s gold standard for facilities.

“I think it just kind of felt right. Growing up, I had coaches that played at UND, and they would take us on tours of the Ralph,” Heil recalled. “I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. So I kind of knew that’s always where I wanted to go.”

For the Americans in his two starts, Heil has proven to be unflappable, not only when they trailed Slovakia by a pair in the second period, but also when a comfortable 3-0 lead over Germany in the tournament opener quickly became a 3-2 nail-biter before Team USA pulled away.

Unlike most goalies who have a reputation for their quirks, Heil’s teammates say his normalcy and calm sets him apart.

“I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s really chill,” said Team USA defenseman Adam Kleber, who is also a Chaska-Chan product, now playing at Minnesota Duluth. “He’s super calm under pressure. That’s probably the biggest thing. But he’s not really quirky in any way. He’s pretty normal.”

Like the prototypical modern goalie, Heil’s 6-foot-2 frame and his reflexes set him apart. And the chance to play for Team USA has him not only focused on a third consecutive gold medal, but thinking about some of the current NHL stars who filled the American crease at the World Juniors just a few years ago.

“I watched Spencer Knight, Dustin Wolf and some of the more recent guys too,” Heil said. “It’s obviously an honor to be in this position and to get that role.”

With Zellers off to a red hot start for Team USA and averaging nearly a point per game as a freshman at North Dakota, there is already buzz that he could bolt college hockey early. Rest assured, Zellers said, he and Heil enjoy being teammates for the stars and stripes at World Juniors, and they will be teammates in green and white a year from now.

“I’ll never leave that place, so (Caleb) knows he doesn’t have to work on me,” Zellers said. “I was just telling him I’ll be waiting there when he gets to campus in the summertime.”

And if all goes right, they’ll have matching gold medals to show off.

ST PAUL, MINNESOTA – DECEMBER 29: Caleb Heil #30 of the United States makes a save against Jan Chovan #12 of Slovakia in the third period of a Group A stage game during the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship at Grand Casino Arena on December 29, 2025 in St Paul, Minnesota. The United States defeated Slovakia 6-5. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
United States goalie Caleb Heil (30), right, celebrates with teammates after an IIHF World Junior Hockey championship game against Slovakia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

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