Gruden keeps Game 1 goalie undecided as Marlies open series vs. Rochester

Game 1 is the whole test now. John Gruden still had not named his starter as the Marlies opened their best-of-three playoff series against Rochester, and that hesitation said plenty about how unsettled Toronto’s most important position remained heading into Wednesday’s opener.

In a short first-round sprint, there is no room to sort things out later. One loss in Game 1 puts the Marlies immediately on the edge of elimination, with Game 2 becoming a survival game and Game 3, if needed, a coin flip. Rochester earned its spot on April 19 by taking the point it needed in a 5-4 overtime loss at Hershey, then walked into the postseason with the weight of a 70th anniversary season and the program’s 51st playoff appearance.

Toronto’s choice came down to two left-catching goalies with different arguments attached to them. Dennis Hildeby offered the heavier playoff résumé and the clearer history with Rochester. The 6-foot-7, 222-pound netminder, drafted by the Maple Leafs in the fourth round in 2022, finished the 2025-26 regular season at 8-7-5 with a 2.67 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage in 20 games. He also brought five career AHL playoff appearances from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs.

The case for Hildeby also went through Rochester. He started against the Americans in their March 27 meeting and stopped 32 of 36 shots in a 5-2 Toronto loss. He was also in the crease for another meeting with Rochester on March 13, giving Gruden and his staff a look at how the Americans attacked him over two separate games.

Artur Akhtyamov gave Toronto a different profile. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 176 pounds, the Kazan, Russia, native posted a .904 save percentage in the regular season, slightly better than Hildeby’s mark. Vyacheslav Peksa was also on the Marlies’ roster as a third goaltending option, but the real decision was between the two names at the top of the chart.

With Hannu Toivonen handling the goaltenders on Gruden’s staff, the Marlies had a familiar playoff problem in front of them: trust the goalie with the stronger track record, or the one with the cleaner recent numbers. Against a Rochester team that already handled Toronto 5-2 once in the regular season, that call could decide the series before it really starts.