The Vancouver Canucks’ young stars were out in full force tonight in the team’s 2–1 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks. Linus Karlsson and Jake DeBrusk scored for the Canucks, with the latter reaching a new career-high for goals in one season. Karlsson is one of the seven players in Vancouver’s lineup tonight who have played at least one game with the Abbotsford Canucks this season. Three of the seven made their NHL debuts within the past two games. One of these players is Nikita Tolopilo, who started his first NHL game tonight and made 15 saves on 16 shots against.
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Tolopilo has had a stupendous 2024–25 season with Abbotsford, starting 34 of the team’s 69 games so far this season. He has won 18 of his starts, four of which have been shutouts. In his past 10 games, he has stopped 256 of 280 shots against, putting up a .914 SV% and a shutout. In his NHL debut tonight, he had a .938 SV%.
“I think it’s kind of a long journey to get my first initial start, but I’m really proud of myself and really thankful to all coaches, all teammates, to my agent, to my family, who support me all the way,” Tolopilo said about his first NHL start.
Another Canucks prospect who made his debut tonight is Kirill Kudryavstev, a seventh-round gem in the 2022 NHL Draft. This season was his first with Abbotsford, as he’d previously spent the past three years with the Soo Greyhounds. In 63 games played with Abbotsford, he has scored five goals and added 21 assists. Tonight, he put up one shot and blocked three in 13:33 minutes played. He played relatively calmly in his own zone while adding pressure on the Sharks’ puck carriers to help Vancouver gain possession.
"I haven’t seen him since camp. I think there’s something there. I think there’s a good shot for him down the road, because some good feet, good brain, good stick. I thought he was really good," Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet said of Kudryavstev’s performance tonight.
Ty Mueller, who made his NHL debut the game before, suited up for his second game with Vancouver tonight. He had two good setups for linemate Jake DeBrusk early in the first and second periods that ultimately did not convert. While he didn’t get as many minutes tonight (9:39), he blocked two shots and made one hit.
“I love to see them up here. They deserve it. They have both had a really good year down in Abbotsford. So no, I’m really happy for them, and they work hard. So it’s always fun to see guys taking that step and get a chance up here, because I think the guys in Abbotsford deserves that,” Karlsson said of his Abbotsford teammates making their way up to Vancouver.
Around halfway through the first period, the Canucks were given a four-minute power play after Elias Pettersson (D) ended up on the receiving end of a high-stick. Despite not capitalizing on the opportunity, the team launched eight shots at Alexander Georgiev including a great chance by Pius Suter. Before tonight, Vancouver’s power play had scored five goals in the past 12 opportunities, taking place over the span of five games. Even with five power play opportunities, Vancouver was still not able to score on the man-advantage.
One player who had a bit of a rough night was Victor Mancini, who took three penalties throughout the entire game. The second penalty that he took, for interfering with Tyler Toffoli while trying to clear him from Vancouver’s area, led to the game’s opening goal for the Sharks. With that being said, he also had a fast dash near the end of the second period to help set up a chance for Aatu Räty and Kiefer Sherwood.
While the young players made an impact tonight, at the end of the game, the spotlight was all on Canucks Captain Quinn Hughes. He dominated the bulk of the extra frame and ultimately potted an assist on DeBrusk’s game-winning goal to tie Alex Edler’s franchise record in career points by a defenseman (409). With this, Hughes will look to break the record in the team’s final game of the season against the Vegas Golden Knights.
"I was lucky enough to watch Edler break it. I think it was my first career game when he did. Very honoured. It’s been a blessing to play here," Hughes said postgame of tying the franchise record.
"He’s a pleasure to coach. He loves the game. He wants to win. He wants to keep getting better his game," Tocchet added of Hughes’ season as a whole. "He’s emerging every day as a leader. He’s probably hurting more than anybody about not making the playoffs."
All in all, tonight’s debuts were pretty solid for Kudryavstev and Tolopilo, while Mueller built on his first game by putting himself out there more offensively. Tonight’s game was not entirely about collecting points, but more-so about seeing what the Canucks’ future holds in the players who have succeeded in Abbotsford this season.
Stats and Facts:
- Drew O’Connor becomes the first player in Canucks history to play more than 82 games in one season
- Canucks sweep season series against the Sharks, going 4–0–0
- Quinn Hughes plays more than 30 minutes in one game for the sixth time this season
- Quinn Hughes ties Alex Edler’s record for most points by a defenseman in franchise history (409)
- With his 28th of the season, Jake DeBrusk notches a new career-high in goals scored
Scoring Summary:
1st Period:
No scoring.
2nd Period:
4:20 – SJS: Macklin Celebrini (25) from Tyler Toffoli and Luca Cagnoni (PPG)
3rd Period:
9:02 – VAN: Linus Karlsson (3) from Teddy Blueger and Drew O’Connor
Overtime:
4:42 – VAN: Jake DeBrusk (28) from Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser
Up Next:
The Canucks play in their last game of the season on Wednesday night at Rogers Arena for fan appreciation night. They’ll be taking on the Golden Knights, the current Pacific Division leaders. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT.
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