'You Have To Fight For This No Matter What's Going On': How Ilya Samsonov Earned Himself Back-to-Back Starts with Maple Leafs for the First Time in Over Six Weeks
Ilya Samsonov leaned on his family, including his parents, who gave him some much-needed perspective.
The Toronto Maple Leafs tried everything when it came to restoring Ilya Samsonov's confidence.
It turns out that maybe all he needed was a visit from Mom and Dad, who flew in from Russia on Dec. 28 at the very height of the goaltender's struggles.
"It’s really important to talk with your dad. He’s older than you and has been in a lot of different situations," Samsonov said following Leafs practice on Tuesday. "I know he’s not a professional hockey player but still [I]have a lot of respect for him and listen to what he said."
Samsonov's father, Aleksei, works as a manager in a factory in Ilya's hometown of Magnitogorsk and was able to get through to the goaltender about life in general.
The message from Dad? It's more than about you.
"It’s easy to sit and cry and keep your head down. He said you have to fight for this no matter what’s going on," Ilya said. "You have a family and you have a kid. You’re not a small guy anymore. You’re not in the kid's garden, You live a big life. This has really helped me. It’s given me extra motivation."
Days after his parents arrived in Canada, Samsonov was waived by the Maple Leafs and later sent down to the Toronto Marlies. The goaltender did not play in any games with the AHL club. Instead, he worked with Marlies goaltending coach Hannu Toivonen and they began a process of rebuilding the goaltender's feel for the puck and with it, growing his confidence.
From there, the Maple Leafs called Samsonov up and gave him a start against the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 14. While his .870 save percentage didn't reflect it, the goaltender performed well enough and made some key saves to help his team stay in the game.
From there the Leafs continued to start No. 3 goaltending option Martin Jones as Samsonov waited for his next opportunity. A strategy intended for the Russian by design.
"We kept him hungry by not playing him all week," Keefe said. "Quite honestly I was not surprised that he had the type of game he had.
On Sunday, Samsonov had his best performance yet, a 16-save victory in a 3-1 Leafs win against the Seattle Kraken. Despite the small workload, Samsonov had to be sharp making several saves of a high difficulty, including his pad save on Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz.
And that performance, combined with Jones' struggles in his last start, a 6-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, has translated into another start for Samsonov. He'll be making consecutive appearances for the Maple Leafs since his 18-save shutout against the Nashville Predators on Dec. 9 followed by an .862 save percentage in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Dec. 11.
"I’m so motivated. I want to stop the puck as hard as I can. I want to enjoy it. The last couple of months I forgot to enjoy how to play. I just want to enjoy every moment right here," Samsonov said. "Coming back slow is not an easy process. I had to fight for my (hockey) life and just know I’m staying positive. That’s most important."
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