The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev to a three-year entry-level contract, per a team release.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin issued the following statement regarding the signing:
Kirill has had a good season so far and our development team has been happy with his progress in the OHL. Our group looks forward to the opportunity to continue to work with him and get him ready for a pro career.
Allvin is entirely correct to say that Kudryavtsev has had a good season. The 2022 seventh-round pick has scored 45 points in 60 games for the Soo Greyhounds, a healthy increase from the 39 points in 68 games he scored in his rookie OHL season.
The Yaroslavl, Russia native doesn’t offer premier size standing at five-foot-eleven but he’s got a capable two-way game that should more easily translate to the professional game than some of the more high-octane styles of his peers in junior hockey.
Kudryavtsev has an entry-level deal in hand now, one that begins next season and pays him a league-minimum $775k base salary in the NHL, $80k in the minors (where he will likely spend time developing his game before he’s an NHL possibility) and a 75k signing bonus, according to CapFriendly.
With it, he’ll be able to enter Vancouver’s farm system and look to make a name for himself in what is a relatively thin Canucks defensive prospect pool.