Idaho Steelheads goaltender Jake Kupsky has remained humble in discussing his early season performance, one in which, it can be argued, he’s been the team’s most valuable player.

And we’re only talking about on the golf course.

“I wouldn’t put the claim to it just yet,” Kupsky joked about possibly being the team’s best golfer. “I definitely enjoy golf. I’ve been to some good spots where it’s allowed me to play a bunch while playing hockey. I’d say I’m the most active golfer on the team, put it that way.”

The golf scene in Idaho, Kupsky says, is “gorgeous,” with an abundance of mountain courses and the ability to play nearly year-round. If he keeps playing in net the way he has, he’ll have plenty of time to get to every course in the state.

As seen exclusively on FloHockey every night, the 26-year-old is off to a hot start between the pipes for the Steelheads, at one point leading the ECHL in goals against average and still with a 2.33 GAA and winning record in his first six appearances of the season.

Just like on the golf course, Kupsky has remained humble in discussing the keys to his success on the ice, too.

“I’ve got to say it’s the systems we’re playing, how the guys are playing in front of me,” he said. “It’s been a pretty smooth sailing ride for us, they’re making it pretty easy for us goalies. It’s been really good, we’ve got a lot of hard-working guys who trust the system, and when you do that, it makes everything run a lot smoother.”

The beginnings of Kupsky’s pro career have largely been anything but smooth, until now. A standout in the ECAC with Union College, the Waukesha native had split his first two seasons between the “A” level Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) and ECHL, playing for three different teams in the E, Idaho included, before finally finding a home with the Steelheads this year.

“Every year, I just try to build it a brick better, just keep building,” he said. “This year, getting the opportunity to start here and prove what I can do is good for my confidence, and going forward, I’ve got to stick to the same things that got me here.”

Kupsky seems to have finally left the SPHL behind—he helped the Pensacola Ice Flyers win a championship last year, and played in 32 regular season games for them over the past two years—but is grateful for his time there in helping him prepare for the rigors of being a team’s number one goaltender in pro hockey.

“Spending half the year each year for the past two there, it was good,” he said. “It was good to get down there and get some confidence. Then, when I get opportunities up here, run with that confidence that I have from down there. It’s a great program down in Pensacola, and it helps you at the next level. Going back and forth for me, it was a good way to do it.”

Kupsky impressed the Steelheads with a brief stint during the 2019-20 season, posting a .935 save percentage in two starts, and kept in touch with Idaho head coach Everett Sheen, who had originally brought him back for the following year, but the team opting out due to COVID-19 left him scrambling for a new job, ultimately splitting the year between the South Carolina Stingrays, Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Pensacola.

Now, he’s back in Idaho, and has been enjoying every step of this run.

“That’s the biggest thing, we all play hockey because we’re having fun with it and we enjoy it,” Kupsky said. “If it comes to a point where we’re not having fun anymore, it’s more of a job than anything. The focus is just on enjoying it, enjoying being around the guys, enjoying the hockey when we’re at the rink and then enjoying life when we’re outside of it. That’s all very important. But it’s been very fun so far.”