After undergoing hip surgery and months of recovery, Carolina’s Russian netminder finally returns to the crease determined to prove himself.
For the first time in nearly a year, Pyotr Kochetkov is in line to be back playing on NHL ice.
Obviously the stakes aren't as high as it was 274 days ago, given that Sunday's game against the Florida Panthers is the Carolina Hurricanes' preseason opener, but regardless, it's a huge step for the Russian netminder who has missed so much time.
"I'm excited of course because last season was not too good, not too fun for me," Kochetkov said. "Now I just see not too far. Just taking it day-by-day and wait for preseason games. After that, just live step-by-step."
Kochetkov, 27, underwent hip surgery in December of 2025 to address a nagging injury and by the time he was cleared to return, the playoffs were already underway and there was no time to get him back up to speed.
The netminder did dress for parts of the Stanley Cup Final following Frederik Andersen's injury, but he has yet to step foot into the crease for an actual NHL game since his procedure.
Mentally, the inactivity has been tough.
Kochetkov has dealt with injuries before, having dealt already with a myriad of issues in his short NHL career, but a midseason surgery was a new one for him.
"It was tough," Kochetkov said. "I was very happy for the guys, but if you ask about how I felt, of course it was tough. Never in my career have I played only 10 games. First time in my career where I lose so much time. It was so tough mentally, but I have motivation this season to show who I am."
However, the time off has also given him a different perspective on his career and his game.
"After last season, I never think about 'I want this many games.' or stuff like that," Kochetkov said. "I just try and think about practice, recovery and next day. Nothing more because all my career, I looked too far every time. At first, I want to go to the NHL. After that it's I want to be first goalie, I want to play more, blah, blah. When you're older and you see a little bit of a different angle of your life and your game, now I just want to be excited for what I do and play games. That's what I think about."
That attitude is going to be a helpful one for him to have, especially given the fact that the unorthodox goalie will be entering a relatively new situation in net.
For first time in Kochetkov's career, there's not an established veteran in front of him.
Even though tandem mate Brandon Bussi is older than him by a year, Kochetkov has five years of NHL experience compared to Bussi's one, making him the veteran presence now.
But Kochetkov doesn't see it as anything different. He's just ready to play when his name is called.
"For me, not much changes," Kochetkov said. "Whether it was [Frederik Andersen], [Antti Raanta], now [Brandon Bussi], I have my own individual [thoughts] about what I think about myself. For me, it's just play game and coach think who play next game. For me, nothing changes between this season, last season and the seasons before."
Regardless, this season is a huge opportunity for Kochetkov to reestablish himself as a long-term option for the team though.
The Russian goalie has arguably the highest ceiling amongst all of the organization's netminders, having posted already 11 career shutouts (nearly 10% of his total games played) and carrying the load in multiple seasons already.
However, he's also been very inconsistent at times too, falling victim to multi-game slides and confidence struggles throughout his career.
Finding a way to up the overall consistency factor and be a dependable asset night in and night out will be the biggest key for Kochetkov and it's going to be especially important for himself too as he's entering the final year of his contract.
"For me, it's an interesting season," Kochetkov said. "I have last season on my contract and so I'm excited. We have lots of games soon and hopefully I'll have lots of game time."
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