Aleksei Medvedev’s stock took a hit in London, but Daily Faceoff still isn’t ready to back off the Vancouver Canucks goalie prospect.
Steven Ellis slotted Medvedev 20th on his latest top 25 NHL-affiliated goalie prospects list, which was released Thursday. That marks a drop of four spots from Ellis’ 2024-25 ranking, even after a season in which Medvedev’s numbers dipped.
Ellis pointed to the broader context around Medvedev’s year, noting that London was not the dominant setup fans had grown used to. He also praised the Russian goalie’s athleticism and movement, calling those traits a big reason he was taken so high in 2025.
The 6-foot-3 netminder, Ellis wrote, can have trouble with rebounds, but he also has the kind of ability that lets him take over games. Even with the statistical slide, Ellis said he is not concerned and still sees NHL potential in Medvedev, adding that there is no need to rush him.
The Canucks picked Medvedev in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2025 NHL Draft. In his draft year, he backed up Austin Elliott and put together strong results: a 22-8-2 record, a 2.79 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and three shutouts. He actually outperformed Elliott in the regular season, though Elliott handled all 17 playoff games for the Knights that spring.
Medvedev was expected to grab the starting job in 2025-26, but early struggles changed that quickly. He closed the season at 16-15-3 with a 3.26 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. Undrafted 20-year-old Sebastian Gatto eventually took over the crease, going 24-8-2 with a 2.37 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and three shutouts.
“I feel like, obviously, I had a little bit of an off year. I was off to a really good start, but then I lost my game a little bit,” Medvedev said about his season in London.
“But I thought it just gave me a really good perspective on the game of hockey. When you’re in that discomfort of not playing your best, you keep looking for stuff to improve your game.
So I was able to find so many great things that helped me and explore them a lot more in this offseason.”
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