Nikita Tolopilo (born 6 April 2000) is a Belarusian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tolopilo made his NHL debut on 14 April 2025, against the San Jose Sharks.
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Personal life
Tolopilo was born on 6 April 2000, in Minsk, Belarus. His younger brother Maxim also plays ice hockey.
Playing career
As a free agent, Tolopilo signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) on 15 May 2023. After attending the training camp of Vancouver's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, Tolopilo was named to their 2023–24 season opening night roster. He stopped 41 shots in his league debut to earn his first AHL win on 14 October 2023 against the Laval Rocket. Tolopilo began the season sharing the starting goaltending position with Artūrs Šilovs, but took over as the team's full-time starter once Šilovs was recalled to the NHL. He maintained a 5–3–0 record through the first two months of the season, along with a .906% save percentage. Tolopilo was recalled to the NHL on 23 April 2024 during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, to serve as Vancouver's emergency backup after Thatcher Demko suffered an injury in Game 1 of their first-round series versus the Nashville Predators. Following an injury to Casey DeSmith in Game 3, Tolopilo drew into the lineup and dressed as Silovs' backup in Game 4. Following the game, DeSmith returned as Silovs' backup for the remainder of Vancouver's playoff run.
Tolopilo was named the Abbotsford Canucks opening night roster after attending their 2024–25 training camp. He started the season with two wins through his first two starts and a .925% save percentage. He earned his first career AHL shutout on 23 November against the Henderson Silver Knights. He then became the first goaltender in franchise history to earn back-to-back shutouts following two weekend games against the Manitoba Moose in mid-December. By January, Tolopilo had a 2.67 goals-against average and .915% save percentage through 14 games. He earned his first recall of the 2024–25 season on 8 March as an emergency backup for Kevin Lankinen but was returned to the AHL the following day. Shortly after returning to Abbotsford, Tolopilo earned his fourth career shutout on 16 March against the Calgary Wranglers. By mid-April, Tolopilo had maintained a winning 18–14–2 record and a 2.68 goals against average. He was called up to the NHL on 12 April 2025 under emergency conditions and made his NHL debut on 14 April 2025. Tolopilo made 15 saves in his debut to lead the Canucks to a 2–1 win over the San Jose Sharks. Following Abbotsford's 2025 Calder Cup win, the Vancouver Canucks extended a qualifying offer to Tolopilo to retain his negotiation rights and signed him to a two-year extension on 8 July 2025.