Benjamin Bishop IV will probably miss his father’s National Hockey League opener for the Dallas Stars against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.
That’s because the son of Ben Bishop III and Andrea Bishop was born May 29, which makes him a little more than four months old.
“It was nice. I was able to spend some time with him before the craziness of the season got going,” said his 31-year-old father, a former All-Hockey East goalie at the University of Maine.
In addition to having his first child, Bishop also finds himself playing for a new coach in former Black Bear All-American and Hobey Baker Award finalist Jim Montgomery, who went to the Stars after directing the program at the University of Denver.
“He delivers his message. He’s to the point. But he’ll also mess around with the guys, too,” Bishop said.
“He knows what he’s doing, and his excitement and enthusiasm is contagious.”
Bishop is coming off a solid first season with the Stars only to have a knee injury cut his season short. Even though the Stars (42-32) finished with 92 points, they failed to make the Western Conference playoffs.
“I’m excited. I’m ready to get going,” said a healthy Bishop, who was 26-17-5 last season with a 2.49 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
He has enjoyed three seasons with at least 30 wins, all with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they made the playoffs all three years.
“Thirty wins is my goal every year, and I add on after that. When I get at least 30 wins, we make the playoffs,” the 6-foot-7 Bishop said.
Bishop enters the season with a career record of 174-97-30 (.628) in 323 games. He owns a 2.35 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
Only 13 goalies in NHL history have posted a better save percentage while playing in at least as many games as Bishop.
In an article in SportsDay, Stars goaltending coach Jeff Reese said one of the important elements behind Bishop’s success is his hockey IQ.
“His hockey IQ is off the charts,” Reese said. “A lot of people look at goalies and they don’t think they need to have a high IQ. He understands the game very well. He knows where the puck is going to go before it gets there. That’s a huge part.”
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