Joel Hofer made his return to Manitoba last week.
The 25-year-old netminder backed up the St. Louis Blues in their 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday at Canada Life Centre, when Jordan Binnington and Eric Comrie got the starts for their respective clubs.
Winnipeg got out to an early 2-0 lead on first-period goals from Haydn Fleury and Mark Scheifele. St. Louis pushed back in the third when Dalibor Dvorsky scored to make it a one-goal game before Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor took a stretch pass from Morgan Barron on a delayed Blues penalty and scored the game-winning goal.
St. Louis’ Dylan Holloway cut the lead to 3-2 late in the frame, but Winnipeg withstood the Blues’ last-gasp efforts and secured the full two points from the Central Division battle.
The game marked the second time this season the Blues have travelled to Winnipeg, with Hofer getting the start in their previous Jan. 20 clash.
On Sunday, he enjoyed the action from rinkside while gaining some rest after starting six of the Blues’ last nine contests. After arriving Saturday, the Winnipeg native — who has ties to New Haven Colony and Keystone Colony in the Interlake — was able to break away from the team hotel and spend some time with his biggest fans.
“We got in yesterday, so I just had a little bit of time to go home and have dinner with the parents and see a couple of buddies,” said Hofer post-game Sunday. “Any time you get to come home, it’s super special.”
And though he didn’t get to play in front of them this time, his parents have made several trips to NHL cities this season to watch him during what has been a breakout year individually.
“It’s huge. I wouldn’t be here without them and they’re obviously supportive of me whether good games or bad games — they are always there for me. I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done,” said Hofer.
Off-season help from local goaltending coach Dan Ferguson has also played a part in the success. Hofer has spent more than a decade working with Ferguson of RINK Goalie Development.
In 2025-26, Hofer has already set career highs in games played (36) and wins (17), and ranks second in the NHL with five shutouts — another career best.
After solidifying himself as an NHL backup over the past two seasons, he now finds himself splitting the starting job with veteran netminder Jordan Binnington, who has held the role almost entirely since backstopping the Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2018-19.
As of Sunday, the two have played the exact same number of games in 2025-26, with Hofer posting stronger numbers than the Team Canada Olympic netminder.
Last spring, Hofer was the backup to Binnington when the Blues and Jets squared off in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. After falling in seven games to Winnipeg, the Blues entered this season looking to take another step forward.
That proved difficult early on, as St. Louis endured a seven-game losing skid in its first month of play. Recently, however, the Blues have started turning things around, in large part due to Hofer going 4-0-1 over his last five starts.
The club has also rallied in front of him, outscoring opponents 21-10 in those games. Sunday’s defeat was also just the team’s first regulation loss since returning from the Olympic break.
“I feel good. That comes with the team playing better and obviously stricter in the D-zone and tight around guys and just battling hard,” said Hofer. “We’ve been having a good stretch since the break, and that just comes from good defence and trying to do my best to give us a chance to win. It’s been fun.”
Hofer and the Blues will look to keep that momentum going down the stretch as they remain in the hunt for a Western Conference playoff spot.
They currently sit seventh in the Central Division with a 27-30-10 record, which puts them six points back of the final wildcard spot with 15 games remaining.
