Tampa Bay Lightning 1st round pick in the 2012 draft (#19 overall) Russian-born rookie goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy(88) was quick to sign a handsome three-year entry level deal to try his hand at the NHL after two seasons as a teenage backstop for Salavat Yulaev Ufa.
The 6’3″ 207 lbs. net minder put up almost exact numbers through 36 games with 2.21 GAA and .923 SV% and has won medals playing for his country the last five seasons.
He’s putting up some equally impressive numbers through 14 starts in the AHL with affiliate Syracuse Crunch.
His record of 8-3-3 with a 2.34 GAA and .918 SV% is helping a team that was dead last a year ago into second place in the Eastern Conference.
Going on a hunch, the only 20-year old was recalled after the parent club’s starter went down with injury and was pegged to get the nod for his debut.
He was also coming off a weekend run of games with the Crunch, where he was chosen as the league’s player of the week.
He managed to stopped 23 of 24 shots for his first big league win 3-1.
It would be no surprise to see him get another chance right away as he is a highly touted prospect.