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Nikita Tolopilo
Belarusian ice hockey player From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nikita Tolopilo (born 6 April 2000) is a Belarusian professional ice hockey goaltender. He currently plays for the Abbotsford Canucks in the American Hockey League while a prospect for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tolopilo made his NHL debut on 14 April 2025, against the San Jose Sharks.
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Personal life
Tolopilo was born on 6 April 2000, in Minsk, Belarus.[1] His younger brother Maxim also plays ice hockey.[2]
Playing career
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As a free agent, Tolopilo signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 15 May 2023.[3] After attending the training camp of Vancouver's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks,[4] Tolopilo was named to their 2023–24 season opening night roster.[5] He stopped 41 shots in his league debut to earn his first AHL win on 14 October 2023 against the Laval Rocket.[6] Tolopilo began the season sharing the starting goaltending position with Artūrs Šilovs, but took over as the team's full-time starter once Šilovs was recalled to the NHL.[7] He maintained a 5–3–0 record through the first two months of the season, along with a .906% save percentage.[8] Tolopilo was recalled to the NHL on April 23, 2024 during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, to serve as Vancouver's emergency backup after Thatcher Demko suffered an injury in Game 1 of their first-round series versus the Nashville Predators. Following an injury to Casey DeSmith in Game 3, Tolopilo drew into the lineup and dressed as Silovs' backup in Game 4.[9] Following the game, DeSmith returned as Silovs' backup for the remainder of Vancouver's playoff run.
Tolopilo was named the Abbotsford Canucks opening night roster after attending their 2024–25 training camp.[10][11] He started the season with two wins through his first two starts and a .925% save percentage.[12] He earned his first career AHL shutout on 23 November against the Henderson Silver Knights.[13] He then became the first goaltender in franchise history to earn back-to-back shutouts following two weekend games against the Manitoba Moose in mid-December.[14][15] By January, Tolopilo had a 2.67 goals-against average and .915% save percentage through 14 games.[16] He earned his first recall of the 2024–25 season on 8 March as an emergency backup for Kevin Lankinen[17] but was returned to the AHL the following day.[18] Shortly after returning to Abbotsford, Tolopilo earned his fourth career shutout on 16 March against the Calgary Wranglers.[19] By mid-April, Tolopilo had maintained a winning 18–14–2 record and a 2.68 goals against average.[20] He was called up to the NHL on 12 April 2025 under emergency conditions[21] and made his NHL debut on 14 April 2025.[22] Tolopilo made 15 saves in his debut to lead the Canucks to a 2–1 win over the San Jose Sharks.[23] Following Abbotsford's 2025 Calder Cup win, the Vancouver Canucks extended a qualifying offer to Tolopilo to retain his negotiation rights[24] and signed him to a two-year extension on July 8, 2025.[25]
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Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Awards and honours
References
External links
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