In the second round of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks picked a goaltender with some real growth potential.
Literally.
Alexei Medvedev has sprouted up several inches in recent years and the 17-year-old Russian might not be done growing.
"I feel like I've got another inch in me, for sure," said Medvedev via Zoom. "The last three years, I went from 5'8" to 6'3". It's been a lot of growth and getting used to my body."
There were certainly challenges to a late growth spurt for Medvedev, as he had to adapt to growing seven inches in a relatively short span of time. But adding more height and length is certainly a positive for a goaltender.
"I feel like I became more efficient," said Medvedev about the growth spurt. "I worked a lot on being calm in the net and not doing extra movements. I think it really helped my game, just my structure and how simple I play really defines me."
Medvedev is also anticipating a lot of growth on the ice in the coming year, as he'll be the number-one goaltender with the London Knights now that Austin Elliot has aged out of junior hockey and will be heading to the NCAA. The Knights are coming off a Memorial Cup win that Medvedev watched from the bench as Elliot started every game in the OHL Playoffs and Memorial Cup tournament.
"I want to be the guy," said Medvedev. "I want to play a lot of games, and I want to win next year. I'm really excited for next year and I have a lot of work to do this summer."
Medvedev already has an intriguing blend of training as a goaltender, as he grew up in the Russian system, but came over to Ontario as a teenager, giving him a blend of Russian and Canadian coaching.
"I feel like growing up, I used to do a lot of skating stuff. We'd do goalie sessions with no pucks for, like, an hour," said Medvedev. "It definitely really helped my game, that really helped my skating ability and stuff like that. I feel like in Canada, my focus was just on developing my eyes, my hands, and my tactical technique."
The decision to come to Canada didn't just give him a chance to experience a different style of coaching. He also got used to playing on the smaller rinks in North America and made it much easier for the Canucks to trust he'll stay in North America in the coming years. It's a decision that wasn't made lightly, but was made easier because of family and friends.
"My uncle lived in Toronto, and I had some friends playing over here in the CHL," said Medvedev. "I heard a lot of great things about the league. It wasn't an easy decision, but I think it worked out well for me, so I'm really happy I did that."
If all goes well, the Canucks will be happy with that decision too.
