‘I feel good right now’: Vancouver Canucks recall Arturs Silovs from Abbotsford

21-year-old goaltender Arturs Silovs has been having a tremendous season in the AHL and is now going to be an option for the NHL version of the Canucks.

On Tuesday, General Manager Patrik Allvin announced that the Vancouver Canucks have recalled Silovs while loaning Spencer Martin to the AHL.

Silovs has taken the baton as the starter in Abbotsford and run with it like Usain Bolt at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Silovs has a 21-9-4 record in the AHL this season with a .906% save percentage and has made some highlight reel saves along the way.

We caught up with Silovs on Friday after a 4-0 shutout win at the Abbotsford Centre. He spoke about how jumping into the starter’s role at 21 years old has been really good for him because he can have a short memory with games instead of waiting a week between starts. Silovs has played in 35 of Abbotsford’s 46 games this season. His workload has been heavy but he is beginning to find his groove and understand the tasks that come along with being a starter.

“I feel good right now,” said Silovs on Friday night. “I’m playing more and more games [and] it gives [you] a boost [to] your confidence. It’s a game of details, so I’m always reminded to be sharp on those small things that are missing sometimes.”

Over his past five games, Silovs has a .956% save percentage and has only allowed six goals over those five games. He’s playing the best hockey of his young professional career and though he probably won’t get a start for the Vancouver Canucks, this current situation where the Canucks are at in the season may not be the worst idea to give Silovs a taste of NHL action.

The Canucks are not as concerned about wins and losses at this point, and Silovs would surely enjoy getting his first NHL start in front of the home fans.

Thatcher Demko is expected to be back in the lineup on Saturday to back up against the Philadelphia Flyers. So, Silovs will likely just serve as the backup to Collin Delia on Wednesday night as the Canucks host the New York Rangers.

Who knows though, maybe it should be time for Rogers Arena to experience its first Arty-party.