Canucks Kirill Kudryavtsev Discusses Recovering From A Two-Month Injury, Playing For Manny Malhotra And His Goal Of Becoming A Full-Time NHLer

As the pre-season continues, one name to watch is Kirill Kudryavtsev. The 22-year-old defenceman has become a draft-day steal for the Vancouver Canucks after they selected him 208th overall in 2022. Four years later, Kudryavtsev has already won a Calder Cup and is now fighting for a spot on the opening-night roster. 

Thanks to some impressive play in the AHL, Kirill Kudryavtsev has already suited up for Vancouver five times. Last season, he played in three games and picked up his first two career NHL assists. Entering his third pro campaign, Kudryavtsev's goal remains to become a full-time NHLer.

"That goal was for the last two years," said Kudryavtsev. "The main goal is just to make the team. It doesn't matter what time. It can be the opening night, or it can be February. Honestly, if I just get myself a spot on the team, that's the ultimate goal that I'm trying to achieve there."

As mentioned, Kudryavtsev picked up his first and second career assists last year. He recorded his first against the Anaheim Ducks on April 12, and his second two days later against the Los Angeles Kings. As Kudryavtsev explained in an interview with The Hockey News, getting on the scoresheet at the NHL level was a moment he won't soon forget. 

"It's very exciting. Obviously, there is still a goal up ahead that I have to score, but to get the first point, it's just very nice. It lifts off lots of pressure. Don't have to think about, like, I play so many games now. I haven't had a point yet. All of that, just don't think about that. Now I can just play hockey and then help the team to win hockey games. Then if I score, I score. It's just a good bonus that I will have. But obviously it lifts a lot of unnecessary pressure that I could have in my head for not getting any points or anything."

While there were some special moments, last season was one of the hardest in Kudryavtsev's young career. He suffered a significant injury which sidelined him for two months. When asked about his injury, Kudryavtsev opened up about some of the challenges he faced while sidelined. 

"I've never had an injury like that before. So it was the first time I was actually away from the team. Actually, just doing the rehab. Actually, it was hurting. It was kind of affecting my day-to-day life. So it was a new experience. The one experience I do not really want to go through again. It was dark times. It's really lonely. When the boys go on the road, you have to stay alone. Maybe you get like one or two other extra guys who are recovering with you. But it's really dark times. It gets in your head. You just have to sit there. You watch your teammates battle, play, have fun there, and you just keep watching that. Don't really want to go through that again. It was a tough experience. But it made me stronger. Maybe I appreciate the time when I'm on the team. Even though you have some bad days and you don't want to show up to the rink, you can start to think about how hard it was for those two months being away from hockey, and you kind of start to appreciate coming to the rink every day healthy."

Since joining the AHL, Kudryavtsev has had only one head coach: Manny Malhotra. The two have developed a strong relationship and could be reunited this year in the NHL. When asked about Vancouver's new head coach, Kudryavtsev spoke not just about how Malhotra helps on the ice, but off it as well. 

"A great coach, amazing human being. He's very smart. It's a shame, honestly. He's so smart you can't hide anything from him. But no, he's just a great guy. He's always there for you if you need anything hockey-wise, off-ice stuff. He's there. He always helps you. You have any question about anything, about your life, about how to handle it. I have a girlfriend, for example, or my cat is sick, for example, you can come over to him. Or have a question about the defensive zone, or what am I doing in the offensive zone. He's always there to help. He's always there to help you in the game too. He's that kind of coach that he loves his style of the game, but if you like see something that you wanna adapt to the system to, he always listens to you. He might not adjust; he might adjust; you never know. I've never tried it, but he is a great coach. He helped me a lot. He made me a way stronger hockey player. He taught me lots of small things on the ice that I needed to grow in, and I still have lots of work to do on those small things. But he is helping me a lot, and really appreciate that."

If Kudryavtsev is going to become a full-time NHLer, he needs to keep developing his overall game. He has some intriguing tools, which is one reason he has been called up in each of the last two seasons. For Kudryavtsev, he was able to identify some areas of his game that need work and improve on them during the off-season.  

"I'd say try to improve my shot a little bit more. Just so I can be more threatening from the blue line. I believe I'm a smart enough guy to get myself in those positions where I can have a good look at the net. But sometimes, my shot is not as threatening, so the guys can take it a little bit lightly. I feel like if I have a pretty good shot, people will have to respect me more. That will open up more seams in the passing lanes for me. That's where I can take advantage of the other teams because I know that I can find those passing lanes. So I've been trying to work on my shot, and then my all-around game, just my skill stuff. Obviously, the off-ice workouts, conditioning, all of that."

Ultimately, Kudryavtsev has put himself in a good position to start the year in the NHL. He has had a strong training camp and led the Canucks in ice time during their first pre-season game. If Kudryavtsev keeps developing his game, it won't be long before he becomes a permanent fixture on Vancouver's blue line. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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