Ilya Samsonov preparing for a huge year in Toronto, reveals who he trained with this summer
Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs need a win this season and they need it in a big, big way. There are a lot of question marks in Toronto this season, not the least of which is, what can they expect from their goaltenders this season?
Well, both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov are coming to Toronto with one goal in mind; to help the Leafs exercise their demons while also exercising a few of their own. Both Murray and Samsonov have a lot to prove and both netminders seem to have put in the work this summer and are coming into camp with the right mindset. Now it's time to execute.
Ilya Samsonov revealed on Thursday that he had multiple offers this summer in free agency, some in the multi-year category. He chose Toronto because he felt as though the opportunity was there for him to prove himself and for him to be able to give the Leafs what they've been looking for; quality, stable goaltending.
According to Samsonov himself, he spent this summer working with new Leafs goalie coach Curtis Sanford and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin in Florida, which is certainly noteworthy.
At one point, Samsonov was in a class of young goaltenders that included the likes of Shesterkin, as well as Islanders netminder Ilya Sorokin. The trio of Russian goaltenders were viewed as the next crop of great NHL goaltenders. Caps goalie coach Olaf Kolzig even called Samsonov "the next Andrei Vasilevskiy" on multiple occasions.
Samsonov putting in the work and coming in with a ton of motivation is great news for the Leafs and bad news for the other Atlantic Division teams as far as I'm concerned. While the more significant bet was probably made on Matt Murray panning out, the future in goal for the Leafs could very well be a question that is answered by Samsonov realizing his potential as a number one goaltender.
