SUNRISE, Fla. – We’ve got a little goaltending serendipity going on in the Sunshine State.
With the Florida Panthers acquiring Daniil Tarasov from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round draft pick on Thursday, Sergei Bobrovsky will now have the unique opportunity to mentor the son of his longtime goaltending idol, Vadim Tarasov.
As a kid, Bobrovsky watched Tarasov play for his hometown KHL team in Novokuznetsk, Russia.
“We didn’t have much social media back in the day; there wasn’t internet or anything like that,” Bobrovsky explained on an episode of the Territory Talk podcast in February of 2024. “I had the great opportunity to watch our local goalie for my hometown team. His name was Vadim Tarasov. His son now plays in Columbus. I was able to watch him. He was a really skilled goalie. He had a great technique. He was one of the best in Russia, for sure.
“I was able to watch him practice and playing games and stuff. I would say that was my idol. Obviously, I knew who the top guys [in the NHL] were. I knew [Martin] Brodeur and Patrick Roy, but I didn’t have any chance to watch them. Not only live, but even on TV or on tape. I would say, yes, Vadim Tarasov had impact and inspiration on myself growing up.”
Now, Bobrovsky has an opportunity to make that same impact on Vadim’s son.
Making his way from Columbus to Florida just like Bobrovsky did in the summer of 2019, Tarasov will now have chance to learn from the two-time Vezina Trophy winner fellow Novokuznetsk native.
A third-round pick of the Blue Jackets back in 2017, Tarasov posted a 19-34-6 record with a .898 save percentage and 3.44 goals-against average in 65 career games with Columbus.
On Nov. 20, 2022, he stopped 47 of 50 shots in a 5-3 win over Bobrovsky and Florida.
“Tonight was very special (since) we are from same town,” Tarasov said after the win.
Entering his prime at 26 years old, it’s easy to envision that his best days are ahead of him, especially with the help of Florida's goaltending excellence department.
While nothing is set in stone this early in the summer, Tarasov should be in the running for the backup job behind Bobrovsky for the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers.
A restricted free agent, the Panthers also need to ink Tarasov to a contract this summer.
With free agency kicking off on July 1, stay tuned to FloridaPanthers.com for updates.
