The Calgary Flames’ trade of Nikita Zadorov to the Vancouver Canucks opened a spot in their lineup for a younger blueliner to claim, and now it appears Ilya Solovyov will get the first chance to claim it. The team has recalled Solovyov from its AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.
The 23-year-old blueliner in somewhat similar to Zadorov in terms of profile. While he’s not quite as physically overwhelming as Zadorov, Solovyov still possesses above-average size (he’s six-foot-three, 208 pounds) and plays with a bit of an edge. He’s been a minutes-eating defenseman for one of the top teams in the AHL and made his NHL debut earlier this year.
Although Jérémie Poirier offers a more dynamic skill set than Solovyov, the blueliner underwent surgery earlier this year and is still out indefinitely. So while Poirier, who scored 41 points in his rookie professional season last year, may have gotten the call-up under normal circumstances his injury paves the way for a massive opportunity for Solovyov.
With Zadorov now on another team, the path for Solovyov to establish himself as an NHL player is now clear, he just has to seize it.