The 25-year-old netminder will start against the New Jersey Devils Tuesday night.
The Carolina Hurricanes will be turning to 25-year-old Russian netminder Pyotr Kochetkov tonight against the New Jersey Devils for his first start of the season.
Kochetkov is coming off of a career-best year in which he played a career high 42 games and posted a career best 0.911 save percentage.
The Russian netminder also finished fourth in Calder voting last season as one of the league's best rookies.
"I think it's just about taking that next step and continuing to be consistent like he's been," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour on the expectations for Kochetkov this year. "He's been a solid goalie for us and now it's just looking at getting more starts hopefully and just continuing that growth."
Despite that however, the Canes primarily used Frederik Andersen in last year's playoffs, giving the 25 year old just a single game against the New York Rangers which resulted in a 3-2 overtime loss.
Andersen also started the 2024-25 season for Carolina against the Tampa Bay Lighting on Friday, where he stopped 19 of 21, but now it will be Kochetkov's turn to see what he can do this year.
The two Carolina netminders almost feel like polar opposites with Andersen being a calm and even-keeled goalie while Kochetkov is more aggressive and fiery in net.
"It's all about doing what you've gotta do to be successful," Brind'Amour said. "If that's the way [Kochetkov] has to play, then that's the way he has to play. Freddie's a lot calmer in the net and that's the way he needs to play. Whatever makes you great, that's what you have to do and if he feels that he needs to be an aggressive goalie, then he better do it."
Perhaps Carolina will go with the rotating starts like they did at the end of the regular season last year, but as of now, the team has no plan for how the goaltending will shake out.
"They're both going to play, it's just, is it going to be 50/50? Is it going to be 60/40? I don't know," Brind'Amour said. "We'll see, but they're both definitely going to play a lot of games."
However, it might be high time for the Canes to see if Kochetkov is capable of carrying the load as a true starter.
Andersen is 35 years old and has dealt with a lot of injuries and health concerns over his career. The Dane is also in the final year of his contract while Kochetkov is signed for three more years after this one.
The Hurricanes have to see what they truly have with Kochetkov and hopefully the young Russian can prove that he is ready to take on the reins.
"It's the most important position on the ice," Brind'Amour said. "You can win games and you can lose games. If you're questioning that position, then it's hard to play your game because you're going to make mistakes and you have to play the game knowing mistakes are going to be made. But that's why you have the goalie there. When you have guys back there that you know are going to do the job for you, it makes your game a lot easier to play."