Canucks recall defenceman Kirill Kudryavtsev from AHL Abbotsford

Kudryavtsev, 22, was drafted by the Canucks in the seventh round (208th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. In his draft season, Kudryavtsev scored five goals and 34 assists for 39 points in 68 games with the Soo Greyhounds, adding four assists in 10 postseason appearances. The right-shot defenceman continued to develop his game with the Greyhounds, posting 50 and 47 points in 67 games, respectively.

The Yaroslavl, Russia native then made the jump to the professional ranks, joining the Abbotsford Canucks in 2024-25. In the minors, Kudryavtsev scored five goals and 21 assists for 26 points with a plus-18 rating in 65 regular season games. As the season went on, Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra increased his minutes, and he quickly earned power play time as a rookie defenceman.

Come the postseason, Kudryavtsev saw himself on the outside looking in of the lineup for one game of their opening series against the Tucson Roadrunners, and two in their third series against the Colorado Eagles. He then proved he wasn’t to be taken out of the lineup again, as he played all 12 of the Western Conference Finals against the Texas Stars and Calder Cup Final against the Charlotte Checkers. Kudryavtsev finished the postseason run with one goal and nine assists for 10 points and a plus-18 rating en route to the first championship in franchise history.

Once the father club was eliminated from playoff contention in 2024-25, Kudryavtsev was given a cup of coffee in the NHL, playing two games with the Vancouver Canucks. He was held off the scoresheet, but finished with a shot on goal in each outing and a plus-one rating in 14:08 minutes of average ice time.

In 2025-26, the 5’11”, 200-lb defenceman has struggled through injury, having only played 42 games. In his outings, Kudryavtsev has two goals and 16 assists for 18 points with a minus-17 rating. Vancouver has four games remaining on its schedule, where Kudryavtsev will hope to show his skills at the NHL level before season’s end.