We continue on with our 2026 mid-season Vancouver Canucks prospect rankings here at CanucksArmy.

Today, we bring you a young defender who has been relied on as a go-to skater for the Abbotsford Canucks since he arrived in 2024-25. If you’re looking for a refresher on our ranking criteria, be sure to check out our Honourable Mentions installment before diving in.

Say what you will about the Vancouver Canucks’ drafting near the top of the board. But when it comes to finding value in the later rounds, this amateur scouting staff has quietly done some impressive work.

Kirill Kudryavtsev is Exhibit A. Now (recently) 22 and in his second professional season, Kudryavtsev has evolved from “interesting seventh-round swing” into one of the most relied-upon defencemen in the entire Abbotsford system.

Before suffering a reported high ankle sprain on January 6 — an injury that has now cost him 17 games and counting — he was playing in all situations and leading the team in five-on-five and penalty killing ice time. He has lost the top PP role to Sawyer Mynio (for now), but he still runs PP2 and leads the team, averaging over 23 minutes per game.

He was originally selected to represent Abbotsford at the 2026 AHL All-Star Game, but was forced to miss the event due to the injury. That selection to represent the team felt like a long buildup. For nearly his entire tenure with the Canucks, he has been relied upon as one of the team’s top performers at a young age.

Last spring, during Abbotsford’s Calder Cup Championship run, Kudryavtsev quietly established himself as one of the team’s most important players. He finished tied for third among defencemen in playoff scoring with 10 points and led the entire AHL postseason field at plus–18. More impressively, he was on the ice for just three five-on-five goals against over 21 playoff games while playing legitimate top-four minutes.

Despite standing 5’11″, he carries a strong, compact frame at over 200 pounds. He’s not a bruiser, and he’s not running people through the glass. But his defensive game is built on disruption, and his stick work is elite at this level. Using an incredibly active stick, he times his swipes perfectly and closes lanes early to force hesitation. Whether it’s knocking pucks off sticks in transition, blocking pucks out of play or breaking up cycles with subtle positioning, he consistently makes plays die from a simple stick play.

Additionally, his retrievals and outlets remain among his best features. He moves the puck confidently and cleanly with little panic in his movements. That poise carries into the offensive side of his game. He isn’t a high-end driver from the backend, but he’s intelligent with his pinches and rarely abandons structure to chase offence. He can walk the line with relative ease and shoots with purpose.

With 39 points through 93 games, his offensive contributions aren’t necessarily the factors that will guide him to the next level. Instead, it’s his two-way acumen and ability to be a disruptor on the penalty kill and lower pairings. He can play either side comfortably despite being a left shot. And when healthy, he is arguably the most leaned-on defenceman in the system.

For a seventh-round pick, his development arc is an incredible story. Now, the biggest question about Kudryavtsev isn’t his intelligence or habits, but rather his projection. At 5’11, he doesn’t carry the margin for error that larger defenders do. At the NHL level, forecheckers are faster and heavier, and space closes much quicker. For his calm approach, it may be a complete non-issue. But we won’t know until he’s given some real minutes.

We do feel that he’s a player worthy of an immediate call-up post-trade deadline for a cup of coffee and “show me” stint. He’s been a workhorse for this Abbortsrof team and has proven he is up to the task with every passing game.

Ceiling: A reliable second-pair, transitional NHL defenceman capable of playing both sides and handling penalty-kill duties. His intelligence and two-way discipline give him real upside as a middle-pairer.

Floor: Kudryavtsev is a solid AHL defender with NHL call-up potential. His well-rounded game and consistent development make him valuable at the AHL level, where he could become a veteran leader.

ETA: Health permitting, he feels like the most logical late-season call-up candidate in the system. If not this spring, then certainly sometime in 2026–27. There is a realistic path for him to push for a roster spot as early as next fall and, at worst, by Fall 2027.

That’s our #3 spot. Stay tuned for another installment tomorrow here at CanucksArmy.

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