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Raymond sets career saves record at NUHS

NEW UM — When New Ulm High School goalie Jack Raymond made a save early on Jan. 24 in the Eagles’ 4-3 home win over Hutchinson, not many people outside of the Eagles’ coaching staff and players realized what had just happened.

The senior goaltender had passed Brach Kraus’ school record of 1,736 saves, and with 15 saves in the Hutchinson game, Raymond now holds the New Ulm High School boys’ hockey career saves record at 1,769 and counting. He also has 14 career shutouts.

Raymond said that he knew going into the Hutchinson game that he was close to breaking Kraus’ career mark set in 2014.

“They told me I was three saves away from the record and I knew that I was going to get that in the game, so they gave me the puck before the game,” he said. “They told the team I had the all-time saves record. I knew we had to win that game because it was a big game for the (Section 3A). So after I made that [third] save I was proud of what I did and then focused on the game.”

Ryan Neuman, Raymond’s high school coach since he started in nets as a sophomore, said that Raymond is technically sound in the nets.

“He is very athletic and he makes saves when he has to,” Neuman said.

And how solid Raymond would be in goal for the Eagles may have been crystal-balled in Raymond’s first start for the Eagles as a sophomore in a game against Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl. In that game, he set a state record for saves in a game with 64 in a 3-0 New Ulm win.

That record still stands.

“It was one of those unreal moments,” Raymond said. “I didn’t know the shot count on the board, and when they told me I had saved 64 shots in a shutout, I just said to myself, ‘Wow.'”

Neuman said that he noticed something special about Raymond years ago in Bantams.

“He is always in the right place at the right time,” Neuman said. “I started noticing him when he was in his second year of Bantams. I saw a little bit of Jack in his first year of Bantams. He caught my eye in that second year and it probably would not have been a bad thing if he had played his freshman year.”

Neuman said that he was impressed by Raymond’s composure at a young age and that composure and leadership has continued.

“He is a well-rounded, good kid,” Neuman said. “He is a good teammate and friend. He is very coachable.”

Raymond gives a lot of credit for his success to the player whose record he broke in the Hutchinson game, Brach Kraus.

“When I was younger, I watched him a lot,” Raymond said about Kraus. “I thought that he was a great goalie — he was always super quick. I always wanted to be quick and be like Brach. He was always on top of his game.”

As for Raymond’s hockey future after graduation, Raymond is thinking about playing Junior Hockey next year.

“I really want to continue playing hockey because I enjoy it a lot,” he said. “The New Ulm Steel have talked to me, but I am keeping my options open. I may still want to try out for the Great Eight to see if I can make that and see where it goes from there.”

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