This has been a very big year for goaltender Vitaly Kolesnik.
After proving himself as a top goaltender in the American Hockey League, the 26-year-old from Kazakhstan was chosen to represent his country at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
"He was like a kid at Christmas when he found out he was going to the Olympics,'' Lowell Lock Monsters coach Tom Rowe said."Same thing when he got his first call-up.''
Kolesnik has played 27 games for Lowell this season. He has been an impressive 14-12 with a 2.79 goals against average for a team that has been stuck in fifth place for most of the season.
He has also impressed during his time with the Colorado Avalanche. He is 3-3 with a 3.29 GAA. He's provided the organization depth at that position.
"He gives them some options,'' Rowe said.
A good sized goalie at 6-feet-2, 198 pounds, Kolesnik plays big.
Perhaps Kolesnik will parlay his Olympic experience into a strong finish for the Avs.
"He's an NHL goaltender, that's for sure,'' Rowe said. "He plays a very organized, standup style and he only goes down when he has to.''
Rowe doesn't know if he'll see Kolesnik again. That's just fine with him because it will have meant the Lock Monsters have done their job of developing a prospect.
Lowell splits its NHL affiliation between Carolina and Colorado, meaning each parent team provides one golatender.
Kolesnik faced a lot of shot in Lowell and that got him prepared for the NHL.
"Colorado has a lot of confidence in him,'' Rowe said. "He's a quality goaltender.''
"He's such a likable guy - his teammates love him,'' Rowe continued. "With a guy like him back there, the guys know they can play looser.''
While at Lowell, Kolesnik was older than a lot of his teammates, some of whom were fresh out of junior hockey.
"His experience definitely helped us,'' Rowe said. "He won a lot of games for us by himself when we were struggling.''
- Fran Sypek
