LATEST | Canucks prospect believes the team has the steal of last year's draft

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Cooper Godin
July 10, 2023 (3:18 PM)

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Josh Bloom was traded to the Vancouver Canucks back in February from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Riley Stillman. Bloom was drafted by the Sabres in 2021 and has spent the last three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League.

While in the OHL, Bloom faced fellow Canucks prospect Kirill Kudryavtsev, who was with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound. In a recent interview with Patrick Johnston of The Province, Bloom had some high praise for Kudryavtsev and gave some insight into what it's like playing against him.

"Tough, tough player to play against. Would always give you a shot here, a shot there," Bloom said. "Little stingers here and there. So frustrating to play against. He can bury the puck too. So he was always dangerous in our scouting. We always had a little video on him before we faced the Soo."

While Kudryavtsev has a long way to go in his development before potentially playing for the Canucks one day, the left-shot defenceman had a solid year in the OHL. In 67 games, he recorded 50 points (eight goals, 42 assists), 14 penalty minutes and was a minus-15.

The Yaroslavl, Russia native's strong season didn't go unnoticed as the Canucks announced in March that they signed him to his three-year, entry-level contract beginning next season.

At this time, it's unclear if Kirill Kudryavtsev will return to the OHL next season or he'll be suiting up for the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks, but a decision on that likely won't be made until September.

Wrote about Kirill Kudryavtsev, who puts up lots of points but it's another part of his game that fellow Canuck prospect Josh Bloom told me about firsthttps://t.co/pZ2KpCvZ2p� Patrick Johnston (@risingaction) July 10, 2023