Canucks News N Notes 25-26

[Cousin Strawberry]

Canucks just acquired a 6'4 220 lb Russian center named Ilya Safonov. Apparently they'll try and lure him over to play where Chicago couldn't.

Sounds like a bottom 6 add at best. Not much of a scorer but good on the pk

For futures.

LOL, Canucks and Rooskies amirite?

Kuznetsov is also being discussed! Let's try it one more time...

[Hockey Widow]

Well if they get him signed to an entry level deal maybe they think he can replace Sutet. 4th line and PK.

[theman]

Well if they get him signed to an entry level deal maybe they think he can replace Sutet. 4th line and PK.

Apparently Safonov has 1 more year on his deal in Russia.

How old is Kuznetsov now?

Russians could work in Van again with Tocchet gone, he had a serious hate on for them.

[Cousin Strawberry]

Well if they get him signed to an entry level deal maybe they think he can replace Sutet. 4th line and PK.

Apparently Safonov has 1 more year on his deal in Russia.

How old is Kuznetsov now?

Russians could work in Van again with Tocchet gone, he had a serious hate on for them.

That other guy we got from the Rags a couple years back is also eyeing a return the NHL and we hold his rights still. Kravtsov wasn't it?

Crap soft!

[UWSaint]

Well if they get him signed to an entry level deal maybe they think he can replace Sutet. 4th line and PK.

The Canucks need bodies in Abbotsford, too, and there's a fair amount of space on the 50 man even after they qualify (and presumably sign) the Abby RFAs. My guess is his competition (if he signs) is with Aman for his role in the organization (defensively minded center tweener) -- though for his sake, I hope that role doesn't also include "Canuck least likely to avoid a hit".

The Canucks could put a call into Kravstov, too. They still have his rights, just need to make a QO.... He was 9th in the league in goals; 6th in scoring, and his team made it to the finals. [EDIT: Just saw Cuz's post -- I don't remember whether he was soft, I do remember he looked lost....]

That's all really impressive -- isn't it the #2 league in the world? But a bit less impressive once you know that Josh Leivo lead the league in scoring (goals and points), and that Leivo's teammate Sheldon Rempel was fourth in each category....

[Per]

I have a soft spot for Silovs. I mean, I have always loved watching Latvia in international hockey; they are a perennial underdog, but they always want to play hockey. They don’t do the hedgehog defense that many inferior teams do, where they just stand in front of their own goal and just throw the puck away, hoping to score on an odd man rush. No, they have a lot heart and they have the ambition to be a contender, despite being such a small country. And their fans are second to none. So there’s that.

But more importantly, Silovs is a championship winning goalie. The kid is just 24 years old, but look at his resumé:

ARTURS SILOVS CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
2016-2017
Latvia U18 Best GAA (1.61)
Latvia U18 Champion
2017-2018
Latvia2 Best Goaltender
U18 WJC (D1A) Gold Medal
2018-2019
U18 WJC Top 3 Player on Team
2021-2022
World Championship Best SVS% (.952)
2022-2023
AHL Goaltender of the Month (February)
World Championship All-Star Team
World Championship Best Goaltender
World Championship Bronze Medal
World Championship Most Valuable Player
World Championship Top 3 Player on Team
2024-2025
AHL Calder Cup Champion
AHL Playoffs MVP (Jack A Butterfield Trophy)[/code]

He turned 16 at the end of the season when he backstopped his team to a Latvian U18 championship title. Sure, only an eight team league, but still. He played in 20 of 28 games, posted four shutouts and had a GAA of 1.61, which was head and shoulders above the competition.

The next season at 16/17 years of age he was playing in the Latvian second tier league, against men. Sure, it’s a glorified beer league, but he was named best goalie in it and then helped the Latvian U18 juniors win the Division 1 of the U18 WJC and be promoted to the real tournament.

The following season, 2018/19 he split his time between the Latvian top league and the MHL, ie the KHL farm league, posting decent but not spectacular stats. He was also dressed two games for Dinamo Riga in the KHL but did not play. In the WJC-18 (now the real tournament) he started all games for Latvia. They got smoked against Sweden, Russia and the USA, but managed to beat Slovakia 2-0 and avoided relegation play. They then lost 1-3 against Canada in the QF. Silovs was named one of the three best players of his team. He then got drafted by the Canucks in June.

He then spent a year in the OHC getting adjusted to the North American game. After that he was lent back to Riga for a year and then he returned to North America where he split his time between the ECHL (6-3-1) and the AHL (3-6-0) before representing Latvia at the world championships and posting the best saves statistics of any goalie in that tournament, .952.

2022/23 was probably his breakout season. He started in 44 AHL games posting a very nice 26-12-5 record with 4 shutouts, a 2.44 GAA and .909 svs%. He also got to play five games in the big league (3-2-0) and proved he could handle it. He then backstopped Latvia to their first ever international championship medal, winning bronze at the world championships, where he was also named best goalie of the tournament and tournament MVP!

2023/24 wasn’t as spectacular. 34 games in the AHL (16-11-6) and 4 in the big league (3-0-1), is a pretty good record though.

This season he got a bit more time in the NHL, but didn’t quite live up to expectations, posting a 2-6-1 record. He still managed to shine in the AHL though, 14-5-2 and then backstopped Abbotsford to a Calder Cup victory, being named MVP of the playoffs!

I don’t know, to me it seems he has won a lot for his age and seems to step up when it matters.
I’d be very disappointed to see him go.

At the same time, both Demko and Länkinen are probably better NHL goalies at this point in time. Definitely more proven.
But the potential and that tournament winning ability in Silovs would really be a bummer to let go.

[Lancer]

I, too, have a soft spot for Latvians and I’ve been rooting for Šilovs since he was drafted. There’s a lot to love about the kid, and he’s done enough to warrant an NHL job - even as a backup.

Lankinen is expensive insurance. At the time of Lankinen’s extension, Śilovs was doing good on the farm but nothing to suggest he was ready to take anyone’s job soon. It makes one wonder what management’s view of Šilovs was when they signed Lankinen. I initially thought Lankinen was a bandaid to let Šilovs cook in the minors a season. Now he’s here for five more years with movement protection. He’s going nowhere soon.

Signing Demko is almost a necessity unless management thinks they can make noise in the playoffs with a duo of Lankinen and Šilovs - pretty unlikely. Add his pedigree and his relationship with other core players, and I deem it unlikely he moves unless the haul is undeniable.

Šilovs will get a decent return. Just let him go East instead of staying in the Western Conference.

[Chef Boi RD]

If Demko is extended, not sure how they keep Silovs happy tucked away down in Abby. The Canucks have some decent goalies in Abby behind Silovs in waiting - Tolopilo and Young. The two are more than capable. Silovs is in limbo land if Demko is extended. I imagine they will move him. I’m sure Silovs is not interested in being the injury back up plan. And once we have to waive him back he will get plucked off the wire. Trade him

[Picker of Cherries]

There is no way Silovs makes it through waivers and down to Abby. It’d be foolish to even try.
They’ll have to carry three goalies until one is traded, probably have to wait until a contender has goalie injury problems.