While the Blue Jackets were playing Saturday night in Florida, just up I-71 in Cleveland from the capital city, Columbus got a first look at its potential goalie of the future.
2017 third-round pick Daniil Tarasov,
a highly regarded goalie prospect
, made his North American debut by playing with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.
The 22-year-old didn't disappoint, making 27 saves on 29 shots against as the Monsters rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a 4-2 win over Grand Rapids at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Watch: Youtube Video
The only two goals against Tarasov came in the first period, as first, Riley Barber skated in, deked past a sliding defenseman and beat Tarasov from point-blank range over the glove. Later in the period, Tarasov was the victim of a tough break, as a centering pass by Mathias Brome went off the skate of Cleveland defenseman Gavin Bayreuther and into the net.
But after that goal, Tarasov was perfect, stopping 11 shots in the second period and nine more in the third.
"It was unfortunate for him," Eaves said of the Brome goal. "It kind of gives you a look-see into his mental makeup. He didn't get rattled. It's probably happened to him before. He settled down, and some of the saves when he went side-to-side, he knew the play was coming, anticipated well and was square to the shooter. It was a good first impression for sure."
For his part,
Tarasov told reporters
he noticed something goalies like Elvis Merzlikins very quickly learned about the transition to the smaller rink -- a faster game and shots from all angles.
"It's a faster game over here," Tarasov said through an interpreter. "The pucks are coming from pretty much everywhere. You have to be ready for everything.
"I'm happy for my teammates that everybody played well and we got the win."
Tarasov fills up the net at 6-foot-5, and his stats show someone who could be a potential NHL starter down the road. A knee injury cost him the 2016-17 season ahead of his draft year, but Tarasov's athleticism, size, skill and lineage (his father Vadim also was a goalie in Russia's top level) were enough for Jarmo Kekalainen and staff to make him a draft pick.
He quickly continued to impress in his native Russia, posting a 1.85 GAA in 40 games the year after he was drafted in Russia's top junior league. He made his KHL debut a year later (2018-19) and spent most of the year in Russia's version of the AHL, posting a 1.71 GAA and .928 save percentage in 25 games with Toros Neftekamsk of the VHL.
He spent last season with Ässät of Finland's Liiga, where he moved to earn a full-time starting job. There, Tarasov played in 41 games and had a 2.72 GAA and .899 save percentage while playing for an Aces team that was in the bottom half of the standings.
Tarasov was slated to spend this year with Cleveland, but the pandemic changed those plans. He instead returned to Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL, whose youth program he came up through, and Tarasov was impressive, going 11-3-2 in 16 games with a 2.07 GAA and .925 save percentage.
Time will tell what happens next with Tarasov, and he'll spent the rest of the season learning the smaller rink and getting used to the faster pace of the North American game. There will likely be ups and downs, but it also seems there's a lot to like about the Russian import.
