Before Vasilevskiy turned 21, he already had a Stanley Cup Final victory to his name and a regular job as a backup goaltender with the Lightning in his first season in North America.

That he rose so fast through the ranks should not have been a big surprise. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound 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 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 in which he represented his country at the World Junior Championships, leading Russia to a bronze medal, and was selected to the senior team for the World Championship, where he allowed one goal in his two starts on the way to a gold medal.

Vasilevskiy arrived for 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, and he posted his first career shutout against Buffalo on March 3, 2015.

Vasilevskiy made NHL history in the playoffs when he got a victory in relief of Game 2 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks, becoming the first goaltender to earn his first career postseason victory in relief in the Final since Lester Patrick with the New York Rangers in 1928.