The Vancouver Canucks haven’t had a true success story out of the seventh round in over 40 years.
You have to go back to 1980 for the last seventh-round pick to truly have an impact for the Canucks after they drafted him. That’s when they picked Doug Lidster, who became the team’s best defenceman for nearly a decade in the late eighties and early nineties.
42 years later, the Canucks might have found another seventh-round gem of a defenceman.
The Canucks drafted Kirill Kudryavtsev in the seventh round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft after the Russian defenceman came over to Canada to play in the OHL. Billed as a pure offensive defenceman when he entered the league, Kudryatsev instead demonstrated a smart, well-rounded game that resulted in him playing in every situation for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
"He's become one of the league's top shutdown defencemen"
Thanks to an excellent post-draft year in 2022-23, Kudryavtsev was the Canucks’ first draft pick from 2022 to get signed to an entry-level contract, ahead of higher picks Jonathan Lekkerimäki and Elias Pettersson.
Kudryavtsev put up 50 points in 67 games in that season, good for 14th among OHL defencemen. There was some expectation that he would become one of the top-scoring defencemen in the OHL in 2023-24, if not challenge for top spot in the league.
Instead, Kudryavtsev’s offence took a small step back, going from 50 points to 47. But, according to Kudryavtsev himself, it was an intentional step back.
“I felt like we had a strong offensive team, so I just decided to stay more in my game and be a two-way defenceman,” said Kudryavtsev to the Canucks’ Chris Faber. “I still got my points on the power play. I knew I was going to get them there but I wasn't really trying to rush and force the puck.
“I focused on just trying to play less risky and play more for the team because it felt really bad last year when we were trying too much and then didn’t even make the playoffs.”
Kudryavtsev’s defensive focus paid off, both in getting the Greyhounds to the playoffs and a game away from the Western Conference Championship, and in improving defensively to the point that it’s now the true strength of his game.
“He’s become one of the league’s top shutdown defencemen, eliminating off-puck threats, winning battles, and killing rushes against,” said EP Rinkside’s Mitch Brown. “While he might not have the overt physicality of shutdown NHLers, he’s a sturdy player who wins body positioning consistently and makes quick breakout plays under pressure.”
While plus/minus isn’t always the best indication of a player’s defensive ability, Kudryavtsev going from minus-15 last season to plus-29 this season jumps off the page.
“I didn't really care about points at the season; maybe last season, I cared more because I needed to sign the contract,” said Kudryavtsev to Adam Kierszenblat of The Hockey News. “This season, I just cared about being in OHL, and so I'm just playing more defensively, more structured, more hard, all this stuff. That's why my plus/minus, this season, it's just a completely different story.”
"I need to keep working on certain skills so that I can go up another level"
Kudryavtsev’s commitment to the defensive side of the puck at the expense of gaudy offensive numbers earned him plaudits around the OHL. In the annual OHL coaches’ poll, Kudryavtsev was voted the most underrated player in the OHL’s Western Conference.
In fact, with his late-round selection and understated point totals, Kudryavtsev is arguably also the most underrated prospect in the Canucks' system.
But Kudryavtsev's defensive focus doesn’t mean he can’t put up points. He’s a smart activator from the point and knows when to join the rush to provide an extra layer of offence. He’s also an excellent distributor from the point as a power play quarterback and has a decent shot as well, even if he didn’t use it quite as much this season.
What stands out when watching Kudryavtsev is the layers of deception he has built into his game. On puck retrievals, he always adds a fake or two to throw off a forechecker, giving himself an extra couple of steps to move the puck. When he breaks the puck out, he’ll look off his intended target, moving sticks out of passing lanes as his opponents track his eyes.
Those moments of deception are vital in the NHL and perhaps the best indicator that he has a future with the Canucks. Combined with a smart, smothering shutdown game, Kudryavtsev could be another seventh-round success story like Doug Lidster.
For now, Kudryavtsev has his sights set on a smaller goal: playing for the Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL rather than returning to the OHL for his over-age season.
“I need to keep working on certain skills so that I can go up another level,” said Kudryavtsev to Faber. “I'm hoping to be in the AHL next season. I will need to gain a bit more weight and be more of a man and just keep working on my strengths and the things I do well but be ready to do them at a higher level. I’m working really hard on everything this summer.
“The biggest goal is just to make the AHL — well, the biggest goal is making the NHL, that’s the goal for everybody but you never know what is going to happen. I’m trying not to look ahead and say, ‘I want to be partnered with Quinn Hughes next season.’ Obviously, that would be pretty cool, but I am just focused on taking little steps.”
