“If you are consistent, the coach can see it, and he can see that you put in hard work every day. Maybe, if it’s not even going your way, he still sees that you are trying every day, he will appreciate it, and he will give you chances,” said Kudryavtsev.
Kudryavtsev built a strong relationship with his head coach, Manny Malhotra, throughout the season. Malhotra worked hard with his players during practice, but was also there to support them mentally and keep the room close away from the ice.
“He is the type of personality that I want from a coach on a practice day. He will be really hard once the practice starts, like, really serious. He will be serious for 30 minutes after practice for some skill stuff, too. But after that, it’s happy Manny, and he is like your best friend. Manny is a good guy, and you can throw jokes. He’ll be a good guy, but once it’s practice time, it’s business Manny.”
One of the most impressive stats of Kudryavtsev’s rookie season was his positive goal differential when on the ice. He finished the AHL playoffs as a +18 and led the league in that stat with only one other player finishing with double digits (Tobias Björnfot +11).
“You just put your head down. You work hard with your teammates, giving them chances to score, and then you just work really hard. In the defensive zone, mistakes will happen, and you just hope your goalie will make a save. It’s just a lot of hard work, and then you see the results, and you’re like, ‘wow, hard work actually really pays off.’ You see the end result, but it’s a long process. It’s not like you get +18 in one game,” said Kudryavtsev.
Working hard in the defensive zone is where he feels he has improved the most this season. Kudryavtsev’s growth in confidence throughout the season helped him play his best during the postseason. Though Kudryavtsev stands at 5’11”, he believes that he surprises the opposition with his strength and fighting for position in the corners by being the lower man.
“I’m not a small guy, so that’s what everybody probably doesn’t understand, I think I surprise some people. They think, ‘Well, he’s 5’11”, he’s probably like, 170-180,’ but I’m 205, and nobody is really expecting that,” said Kudryavtsev. “I can be really shifty in the corners sometimes, because I’m still small with my height, and I can go side to side very easily. So that does give me an advantage. If I need to be physical, I can use my body in front of the net, I can protect the puck, or I can be really shifty.”
Kudryavtsev is highly committed to his offseason work, and though it’s been a shorter year with the Calder Cup run, he has been working hard in Vancouver during the offseason to prepare for his sophomore year as a pro.
He went back home to Russia for three weeks this summer to see his family and friends and really enjoyed the downtime and home-cooked meals from his mom. Though the time was short, it was a good boost for him to get back to Vancouver and continue his work. He believes this was another good summer of training, attributing his progress to the skills coaches he works with, who helped him find another gear.
“I came over here [to Vancouver] so early because I knew a coach was going to help me and push me forward. It’s way different if you are practicing with a good coach. You can push yourself so far, but it’s not the same as somebody watching over you. I’ve got [Arshdeep] Bains over [working out], and you are pushing and competing. For example, I see 100 pounds on the bar and then I look at it and have to do 110,” he said with a laugh.
“You just need somebody else, because they can push you over your limits.”
With a strong offseason of training, Kudryavtsev feels like this year’s training camp is going to feel much different from last year. He felt a bit nervous going into camp last year because he was fighting just to get a chance to play in the AHL. Now, he feels confident as an AHL player and is looking to build on his skills and continue to prove to the Canucks that he has a future in the NHL.
Insider Extra: Kirill’s First NHL Game
Kudryavtsev made his NHL debut on April 4th in a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Arena. It was a monumental moment for the defenceman, and he got to share the debut with his close friend and Abbotsford Canucks teammate, Nikita Tolopilo.
“I was just trying to soak it all in and enjoy the moment. I think it was Paul Maurice that said, ‘You can win many times, you can play 1000 games, but you only play your first NHL game once,’ and I remembered that,” said Kudryavtsev.
He played 13:33 in his debut and was a +1 with one shot on net.
“I was just trying to enjoy the moment, be around the guys and really get used to the speed. That was probably the only thing I was really looking for: not to feel behind the speed [of the NHL]. I think I did a pretty good job of that.”
Kudryavtsev shared a fun moment with his NHL teammates when he prepared to take the ice for his rookie skate. All the rookies know they must do their rookie lap without their helmets, but Kudryavtsev nearly got away with wearing his onto the ice.
“I knew it was coming, everybody knows,” said Kudryavtsev about having his helmet taken away for his first rookie lap.
“I was shocked that my helmet was still there when I put my jersey on. I was like, ‘Oh, really, what’s going on?’ But I had to go to the bathroom and make sure my hair looked good, because I knew the helmet was not going to be there. It was gone when I got back, and then I saw Brock holding my helmet. I’m like, ‘Alright, I know what to do,’ that was really nice.”
