Vancouver – Nikita Tolopilo, the goalie who became the 40th player to wear a Vancouver Canucks jersey this season, noted on Monday that the National Hockey League is very far from his hometown of Minsk in Belarus.
In reality, the NHL is a distant dream for any player, no matter where they come from.
For most hockey players dreaming of a professional career, the best league in the world seems like an unattainable fantasy. Getting there is incredibly difficult, and staying is even harder, even for those lucky ones who get such a chance.
On Monday, a week after his 25th birthday, Tolopilo, an undrafted player who was considered a “project” and who spent the past and current seasons in the American Hockey League, stopped 15 of 16 shots in his NHL debut. In this game, the Canucks defeated the San Jose Sharks with a score of 2-1 in the 81st game of the season.
Tristan Blackwood