Vancouver Canucks sign Kirill Kudryavtsev to entry-level contract

The Vancouver Canucks have signed prospect defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev to an entry-level contract.

“Kirill has had a good season so far and our development team has been happy with his progress in the OHL,” said Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin. “Our group looks forward to the opportunity to continue to work with him and get him ready for a pro career.”

Kudryavtsev’s entry-level contract is the standard three-year deal, and he’ll be making $850,000 per season. He’ll finish the deal as a restricted free agent with a qualifying offer of $813,750. The deal won’t kick in until next season, so it expires in the 2025-26 season.

Kudryavtsev is having a great sophomore season in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, with 6 goals, 39 assists, and 45 points in 60 games. It’s a great improvement on his already solid rookie season where he had 5 goals, 34 assists, and 39 points in 68 games.

Here’s what Daily Faceoff’s prospect expert Steven Ellis had to say on Kudryavtsev:

“I really liked Vancouver’s pick at the time, and even more so now. He had an OK rookie season, but it seemed like it wasn’t going to take much for him to really blossom into something tangible. That’s because he’s so smart at starting plays, finding his teammates on the rush and playing quick give-and-go hockey. He has some decent size too and isn’t afraid to lay out the body, either.”

Kudryavtsev was the Canucks’ seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft, going 208th overall. The fact that a pick that late in the draft has already been signed to an NHL contract goes to show how much of a steal this pick could be for Vancouver. He is the first player from the 2022 draft for the Canucks to get an NHL deal.