The Developing Duo of Young Goaltenders in Abbotsford

Abbotsford is known for a few things.

The Abbotsford Air Show, cheap gas, berry farms, and of late, much of the city is talking about goaltending.

Arturs Silovs and Nikita Tolopilo are quickly becoming household names in the Fraser Valley as they continue to develop alongside the helpful watch of Development and AHL Goaltending Coach Marko Torenius.

Silovs caught the eyes of the entire hockey world this past summer as he picked up the Most Valuable Player award at the World Championships in his home country. The 22-year-old led Latvia to a bronze medal including a 3-1 win over Sweden where Silovs stopped 40 of the 41 shots he faced and a 4-3 win over the USA to secure the bronze.

"It probably helped his confidence level but at the same time, I think he also has the target that someday he will be an NHL goalie,” said Abbotsford goaltending coach Marko Torenius. “The World Championships is history now. It gives him confidence and makes him know that he can make big things happen. But you have to keep your focus on a daily basis. We’ve got work to do and we need to live in the present moment.”

This moment was huge for Silovs but he has put it behind him and is focused on this AHL season and what he needs to do to make it to the NHL. Silovs made five NHL starts last season to go along with his 46 games in the AHL. The youngster has leapt into the standalone starting goaltender role and this is on track with how his goaltending coach views Silovs’ development.

So far, so good for Silovs this season. He is fresh off being named AHL goaltender of the month in November and has only allowed seven goals over his last six starts in the AHL.

Torenius speaks highly of Silovs but it’s not necessarily just about his skills. There’s a mental part of Silovs’ game that Torenius is impressed by.

“He has a great toolbox,” said Torenius. “He has length, he has explosiveness and he can make those saves outside of the regular package. He can make all those saves, that's for sure. But I think the most important thing is his work ethic and he's really coachable, I like his mentality.”

There are weekly meetings between Torenius and Vancouver Canucks Director of Goaltending Ian Clark. Torenius says that he sends video work to Clark every day as well as Torenius’ game reports, and then the two get together for meetings to discuss what’s next on the docket in terms of development for the AHL goaltenders.

“If there is something that Ian sees, he will text me or call me and we will talk about those things he sees,” said Torenius. “The back and forth is really, really great. He's been such a great tool for me and is teaching a lot of things from his experience. His mentorship, it's been awesome.”

Torenius also occasionally uses some tape from Thatcher Demko to show certain stances or post-integration moves with his goaltenders. Most of the video work is done with reviews on his own goaltenders but there are times when he will show them some Demko tape to help show how he wants to see a certain move be done correctly.

“I’ll use some Thatcher video for our guys because he's such a good example,” said Torenius. “When we had training camp, it was great for our guys to see how Thatcher works. The intensity Thatcher has, all the little details, is good for our guys to see on a daily basis and pick up. Thatcher is a big part of building our work culture. When we have such a great example here, of course, you want to use it.”

Aside from Silovs, the Abbotsford Canucks also have 6’6” Nikita Tolopilo patrolling their crease. The 23-year-old has a 5-3-0 record on the season and holds a .906% save percentage.

Tolopilo was the best goaltender in Sweden’s second-tier men’s league last season. He had a 2.10 goals-against average and a .924% save percentage to go with his 28-17 record with Södertälje of the Allsvenskan league.

The part of Tolopilo that impresses Torenius the most is his ability to stay calm and use his size to his advantage.

“You obviously like the size but I like how he has been taking some steps and making adjustments,” said Torenius. “He started to be more clean with his footwork. He’s started to get his pace up. He’s started to be better in traffic situations. The overall progress has been good. He's still taking those steps and adjusting himself to North American hockey. He has interesting tools and his calmness is impressive for sure. His calmness comes by nature and has been very coachable. I remember seeing pictures when he was a little bit younger, and he was a little bit all over. He has been taking steps and that shows also that he is a coachable guy.”

Both goaltenders are showing promise but are far from finished products. We’ve seen Silovs have flashes of success in the NHL and AHL but Torenius and Silovs are committed to working hard so that Silovs can sustain success instead of just having flashes of excellence. There are daily focuses on footwork, stance and shot reads while a lot of video work is done between the goalies and their coach to see where they can improve their game.

As for Tolopilo, he’s got incredible potential but will have a lot of time in the AHL to develop his game in the coming years. The combination of his 6’6” size and his calmness certainly give him a significant advantage and he has already learned a lot in North America. He’s eager to continue to work alongside Torenius and Clark to become a future NHLer.

The goaltending depth is one of the impressive parts of the Canucks’ prospect pool and with the commitment from Torenius and Clark, Abbotsford is doing everything they can to give their young goaltenders a chance to grow like those famous berry bushes that fill the fields around the city.