Before Vasilevskiy turned 21, he already had a Stanley Cup Final victory to his name, and before he was 26, he'd already led the NHL in wins three times and won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goalie with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
That he rose so fast through the ranks should not have been a big surprise. Vasilevskiy was the first goalie selected in the 2012 NHL Draft, when Tampa Bay used the No. 19 pick on him after he had already played for Russia three times at the IIHF World Under-18 championships.
Before Vasilevskiy turned 21, he already had a Stanley Cup Final victory to his name, and before he was 26, he'd already led the NHL in wins three times and won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goalie with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
That he rose so fast through the ranks should not have been a big surprise. Vasilevskiy was the first goalie selected in the 2012 NHL Draft, when Tampa Bay used the No. 19 pick on him after he had already played for Russia three times at the IIHF World Under-18 championships.
Vasilevskiy proved to be a worthy choice when, as a 19-year-old playing in the Kontinental Hockey League, he had a 1.99 goals-against average in 18 playoff games. That was part of a 2013-14 season that saw him represent his country at the IIHF World Junior Championships, helping Russia to a third-place finish, and earn selection to the senior team for the IIHF World Championship, where he allowed one goal in his two starts and was part of Russia's first-place team.
Vasilevskiy arrived at Lightning training camp in 2014 with plenty of hype. As a rookie, Vasilevskiy acclimated quickly while playing with Syracuse of the American Hockey League, being named goaltender of the month in December 2014. That month, he made his NHL debut in Philadelphia, making 23 saves in the Lightning's 3-1 victory on Dec. 16. Four nights later, Vasilevskiy stopped 45 shots in a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders.
Midway through the season Vasilevskiy became the full-time backup with the Lightning behind Ben Bishop, and he posted his first career shutout against Buffalo on March 3, 2015.
Vasilevskiy made NHL history in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs when he got a victory in relief of Bishop in Game 2 of the Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks, becoming the first goalie to earn his first career postseason victory in relief in the Final since Lester Patrick with the New York Rangers in 1928.
By 2015-16, Vasilevskiy had usurped Bishop as the starter and quickly became one of the NHL's most reliable goalies. He tied for the lead in victories (44) in 2017-18, won the Vezina Trophy in 2018-19 after going 39-10-4 in 53 games, earned his third straight trip to the NHL All-Star Game in 2020 and led the NHL with 35 wins in 2019-20.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (2018, 2019, 2020)
