Pyotr Kochetkov Needs to Be in the Calder Conversation
When you hear talk about the current class of NHL rookies, you're mostly hearing about Connor Bedard or Brock Faber or Luke Hughes, and yes, they are really good players, but there's a rookie who many are overlooking: Carolina Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov.
Perhaps part of the reason why Kochetkov doesn't have as much buzz is because many people probably don't realize that he's still a rookie.
The NHL classifies rookies as a player who has played less than 25 games the prior season and than less than six games total in any prior year.
Last season, Kochetkov only appeared in 24 games and just three the year before that.
So by NHL standards, the 24-year-old netminder is still a rookie and by all accounts, he's been one of the most important rookie in terms of team importance.
Kochetkov is the Hurricanes' go-to guy with currently a 15-9-3 record, 0.911 save percentage and 2.37 goals against average.
On the entire season, he currently has the second best save percentage among rookie netminders with at least 15 starts and has by far the best goals against average.
He's also allowed two or fewer goals in 19 of his 30 starts.
"We've known that the talent is there," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "We noticed day one that he was something special, but he's a young kid. It takes time."
Amongst the entire league, he sits 21st in save percentage, seventh in goals against average and his three shutouts are tied for fifth.
While those numbers may look a bit pedestrian at first glace, it's mostly due to a rocky start to the season when Kochetkov was getting tossed to the wolves in relief efforts and was in between callups to the NHL and AHL.
"The start of the season it was a little bit harder," Kochetkov said. "Now, I feel better. Every game, I've felt a little better and I've progressed."
Since December though, Kochetkov has been one of the league's best goalies.
In that span, Kochetkov has a 12-5-2 record, the fifth best save percentage in the entire league (0.924), the fourth highest goals against average (2.12) and his two shutouts are again tied for fifth.
He has also saved 5.09 goals above expected and has a high-danger save percentage of 0.847 which ranks ninth in the league according to NatutalStatTrick.com.
"He's been amazing," said Andrei Svechnikov. "I feel like every game he gets more confident and he's just been better and better, to be honest. He's already elite so it's exciting to see him being huge for us."
After an up and down start to the season that saw Carolina just two games above 0.500, it's hard to argue that Kochetkov's elevated play hasn't been the main driving force behind the Hurricanes reestablishing themselves as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.
And if you ask the coach, he agrees.
"Our goaltending has been really consistent," Brind'Amour said. "At the start of the year, that was really the difference. The goalies have really stepped up their game over the last three months and that's been the difference.
A lot of noise has been made from those on the outside about how Carolina needs to get a goalie at the trade deadline, but it seems evidently clear that the Hurricanes have their goalie (if not goalies, plural).
And again, a lot of the other rookies this year are having great seasons, but are their team's actual contenders?
Because I can tell you for a fact that no other true Stanley Cup contender is being backstopped by a rookie right now.
In this league, goaltending is both so very important, yet so very difficult (the average save percentage this season is 0.899).
"It's the most important position in the league and you notice it when you don't have it," Brind'Amour said. "When it's not up to snuff, it's glaring. So when it's real good it stands out too, but you can't really say enough about it."
While he may not be as popular or as flashy as someone like Bedard, whose name was already halfway etched on the trophy before he even played a single game, Kochetkov is performing on a team where the games actually matter and at a position that you can't hide in.
The pressure of expectations has been there all year, yet he's only gotten better as time has gone on.
Despite those expectations that have come with leading a Stanley Cup favorite, Kochetkov hasn't felt that much pressure. His approach to goaltending has stayed the same and it's truly a simple one.
"I no have lots of ideas," Kochetkov said. "I just see puck and I want to do save."
If Kochetkov can continue to maintain his level of play — he also had a Calder case last season before tailing off to end the year after injury — there's no reason why he shouldn't be in the mix.
Recent Articles