We finally crack the top five of our rankings with the highest defensive prospect in the system, Kudryavtsev.

Funny enough, Kudryavtsev came in at the fifth spot in our summer prospect rankings last offseason. While he didn’t move up, it is still impressive that he’s held his spot in the rankings amid the influx of prospects the Canucks added during the 2026 NHL Draft.

After beating the odds and making a significant impact on the organization as a seventh-round pick, Kudryavtsev has continued to develop and earn the trust of former Abbotsford Canucks head coach, now Vancouver Canucks head coach, Manny Malhotra.

In his rookie season as a professional, Kudryavtsev became a relied-upon option on the blueline, playing in 65 games in which he scored five goals and 21 assists for 26 points. He was made a healthy scratch early in Abbotsford’s run to the Calder Cup Championship, but quickly got back in the lineup and saw his minutes increase as the playoffs went on. Kudryavtsev carried that momentum over to this past season.

With many blueline options from that Championship team either graduating, finding a new home, or recovering from a lengthy injury, Kudryavtsev was thrust into a significant role in Abbotsford last season. He logged top-pairing minutes and was a prime feature on the team’s power play and penalty kill units. While he battled through injury this past season, his impact was more than felt when he was out there, logging 20 points in 44 games.

Those efforts earned him a taste of NHL action for the second straight season. But this time, Kudryavtsev found himself with a pair of assists in his first two outings.

Kudryavtsev remains one of the best developmental stories within the organization. But a lot of credit has to go to the player as well. He has been on a steady trajectory throughout his two years in Abbotsford, largely due to his work ethic and reliability. Kudryavtsev is a coach’s dream because, no matter the situation, the Yaroslavl, Russia, native can be thrown out on the ice and excel in all three facets of the game.

And he’s able to do all of this despite being just 5’11” tall. However, he leans into his stocky lower body and over 200-lb frame, which helps his confidence to box out the opposition positionally and keep the play in front of him. While he may not be the most physically imposing defenceman, his active stick remains elite. Kudryavtsev uses his stick to disrupt plays, knock the puck off his opponents’ sticks, win loose-puck battles, and easily turn his team on the transition heading back up the ice.

While the offensive side of his game is not elite, Kudryavtsev can pack a punch as a distributor from the point. One may not notice him too much when he’s out on the ice as he’s not that flashy, but as a seventh-round pick, that’s sometimes a positive thing.

He will have an uphill battle to make the NHL roster this season, but there is a much better chance now with Malhotra as the bench boss in Vancouver.

Ceiling: A reliable, third-pair option with the potential to grow into a fourth defenceman in a pinch. However, on a Canucks team with plenty of budding young defencemen already ahead of him on the depth chart, he may not be able to reach that ceiling here in Vancouver.

Floor: Kudryavtsev looks to have already hit his floor: a dependable top-pairing AHL defenceman, who could be called up in a pinch.

ETA: At just 22 years old, there is still time for the former seventh-round pick. However, as he’s shown over the five NHL games, Kudryavtsev’s steadiness and reliability have him primed for a top call-up option for the big club this season. One thing to note: at points during the Calder Cup run, Malhotra often called Kudryavtsev’s number over Victor Mancini’s. If Malhotra does trust Kudryavtsev more, we could see him get a little more than just a cup of coffee with the big club this season.

Keep up to speed with our rankings so far with our honourable mentions and criteria, and our rankings thus far:

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