Canucks fans got their first glimpse of Kirill Kudryavtsev and Nikita Tolopilo on Monday night at Rogers Arena.
The latter made 15 saves and picked up a win in his first NHL appearance. The Belarusian netminder, who turned 25 on April 6th, was placed in the perfect spot to succeed and gain confidence. The Sharks are the worst team in the NHL with a goal differential of minus-102 on the season.
“He looked big, he was good,” Vancouver head coach Rick Tocchet said. “He didn’t have a lot of action, and sometimes it’s harder to play those games, but I thought he did a nice job.”
A win’s a win, in this case a milestone one, and Tolopilo looked comfortable in pulling it off.
“It’s a good feeling, good feeling, just enjoy the moment, pretty simple.” he said postgame. “Tried to focus on the next shot and help the team win.”
In 69 games over the last two seasons in Abbotsford with the AHL Canucks, Tolopilo has a goals against average well below three and a save percentage north of 90%. That’s a good starting point for a free agent who was signed by Vancouver as a free agent two springs ago.
Kudryavtsev, Tolopilo’s roommate in Abby, played 13:33, tallied his first NHL shot-on-goal, and blocked three San Jose attempts at the other end.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Russian, who just turned 21 in February, is one of only eight players to make it to the NHL thus far, out of those taken in the 3rd-round or lower in the 2022 draft.
Kudryavtsev was selected 208th-overall in the 7th-round, 18th from the very bottom.
“I thought Kirill was good,” Tocchet said. “I liked him in camp, I haven’t seen him since camp. I think there’s something there, I think there’s a good shot for him down the road. Good feet, good brain, good stick, I thought he was really good.”
