Tarasov impresses in his first NHL action
It was only a preseason game, but Daniil Tarasov quickly showed why the Blue Jackets are so excited about his future.
Tarasov, 22, played the first two periods in the Blue Jackets’ 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday at Nationwide Arena and allowed just one goal on 26 shots. He looked unflinching in his first NHL action, and most of his stops looked fairly easy thanks to his 6-foot-5 frame.
There’s just not a lot of places to shoot when he’s in position.
“His size jumps out at you right away, right?” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said. “He’s a big man in the net.
I said to (assistant Pascal Vincent), ‘Man, you don’t see a lot of net when he gets to the top of the blue.’ I thought he looked very calm and in control (in the game). He trusts his size.”
It came in handy against St. Louis. The Blues swarmed the Blue Jackets’ net, especially in the second period, and Tarasov was up to the challenge.
One of his most impressive saves was against veteran forward James Neal, who has 294 goals in 850 career games. Neal had an uncontested shot, right in front of Tarasov, and it was turned away with ease.
“There were some plays, especially the second period, they were killing us inside and we weren’t very good,” Larsen said. “But he’s so big. He gets out and gets to the top of the crease, and he’s very athletic. You can see he reacts well too. He hasn’t played much hockey over here, so ... I thought he looked really, really good.”
Tarasov played most of last season as a rookie for Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the Kontinental Hockey League. In 16 appearances, he went 11-3-2 with a 2.07 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and two shutouts. He also
played in two playoff games without relinquishing a goal.
After Ufa’s elimination, Tarasov finished the season with the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets’ affiliate in the American Hockey League. He had a tougher time in North America, going 42-0 with a 3.16 GAA and .896 save percentage, but the experience was a big
help. Goalies from the KHL and other European leagues usually need an adjustment period to North America’s smaller rinks, which speed up the game and force them to be ready for shots at unfamiliar times and angles.
“That’s a huge difference because it’s a different pace,” Tarasov said via interpreter Anton Poltyrev. “Everything’s faster … so an adjustment to the rink is one of the hardest things. What helped is training camp. (That) picked up the pace and speed, so I was ready for it.”
He’s also prepared for the next step in his development.
Tarasov will play his first full season in North America, starting out as the Monsters’ top goalie.
If that goes well, he may soon compete for starts with the Blue Jackets, who currently have Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo battling for the No. 1 role.
Two years ago, that duo rose to prominence after the departure of Sergei Bobrovsky in free agency. They’re now being chased by Tarasov, who’s from Bobrovsky’s hometown of Novokuznetsk.
“A lot of boys in Russia are watching NHL hockey players from Russia who are here,” said Tarasov, whom the Jackets selected in the third round of the 2017 draft.
“Obviously, Sergei is one of them and I watched him when he was playing (here). I paid much closer attention to the Blue Jackets after the draft. After that, I started watching (a lot) more games and dreaming about (the) organization and all that kind of stuff.”
Now, he’s here, one step from those dreams becoming reality. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger