Canucks make roster move with goaltender heading to AHL Abbotsford
Vancouver GM Patrik Allvin announced today that the team has assigned goaltender Nikita Tolopilo to the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks.
Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced on Thursday that goaltender Nikita Tolopilo has been reassigned to the Abbotsford Canucks.
Tolopilo started the season in Abbotsford, stealing a win on opening night before an injury took him out for most of the first month.
When Thatcher Demko went down with a lower-body problem, and Kevin Lankinen stayed home for the first leg of Vancouver's late-November road swing, Tolopilo was recalled to back up Jiri Patera.
What Nikita Tolopilo did in the NHL when called upon
He got the trip off on the right foot with some nice work: in Anaheim, he turned aside 41 shots in a 5-4 win and, in San Jose, he made 24 saves in a 3-2 loss.
Lankinen was back in the lineup the following night in Los Angeles, with Tolopilo dressing as backup.
Later in the trip, Tolopilo went back to Vancouver for the arrival of his daughter and didn't dress in the finale in Colorado.
He was sent to Abbotsford, with defenceman Elias Pettersson, for a tune-up game against Calgary ahead of both players joining the NHL club the next morning.
Tolopilo got another start on December 6 against the Minnesota Wild and Jesper Wallstedt, making 28 saves in a 4-2 win.
Why Nikita Tolopilo is being sent down to the AHL despite playing so well
But with Demko healthy again and slated to return tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, the Canucks have sent Tolopilo back to Abbotsford, where he's expected to handle a sizable workload.
Through the portion of the season thus far, Tolopilo is 2-3-1 in the AHL with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage.
Abbotsford sits near the bottom of the Pacific Division and needs some reliable goaltending to stabilize the group as they push to climb back into contention.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 11 | 105 ANSWERS Canucks make roster move with goaltender heading to AHL Abbotsford Was Nikita Tolopilo the right goalie to assign to the AHL? | ||
| Yes | 67 | 63.8 % |
| No | 38 | 36.2 % |
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