Leafs’ goalie prospects inspired by Dobes as they compete for crease

TORONTO — Leafs goalie prospects Artur Akhtyamov and Dennis Hildeby are drawing motivation from watching fellow 24-year-old Jakub Dobes become a playoff star for the Montreal Canadiens.

“He’s my age,” noted Akhtyamov. “This goalie is interesting for me, and I like what he does.”What does he like?

“Everything,” Akhtyamov said. “His mental game and how [he] stops the puck. His size [6-foot-4, 215 pounds], he’s a big goalie. His interview after the game [on Sunday], so funny too because he’s a good guy, I think.”

Dobes has looked anything but a rookie in helping the Canadiens pull within two games of the Eastern Conference final.

“He’s had an unbelievable year,” said Hildeby. “Played against him a couple times in my rookie year in Laval [in the American Hockey League] and you could see something special there. He’s a big guy, but he moves very fast and is very athletic. He competes a lot.”

While Dobes is now competing for the Stanley Cup, Akhtyamov and Hildeby are doing their best to help the Toronto Marlies make a run toward the Calder Cup.

The Marlies will open the AHL North Division Final on Thursday night on the road against the Cleveland Monsters.

“It’s nice that they’re pushing each other,” said Marlies coach John Gruden. “You can see the competition that it drives. It’s a healthy competition.”

Akhtyamov is earning more ice time so far. He’s started six of eight playoff games while posting a .917 save percentage.

What does he like about his game?

“I don’t know,” the native of Kazan, Russia said. “Ask players or coaches. I hate myself.”

Akhtyamov lets out a laugh while admitting “maybe sometimes” he is a perfectionist.

“You have to be a little bit of a perfectionist,” said Gruden. “You gotta hate to get scored on but you also gotta try to have a little bit of a quarterback mentality. Like, you gotta let things go pretty quick and I think he does do that. I don’t think he lets it affect him.”

Akhtyamov may be modest, but there’s no doubt he played a big role in helping the Marlies dispatch the Rochester Americans in a best-of-three series and the Laval Rocket in a best-of-five affair. Both series went the distance.

“I like when we win the two series, that’s good,” he said. “I have moments, I need to work more. I want to stop more pucks.”

Akhtyamov stopped 20 of 22 shots in a do-or-die game on Saturday in Laval. The 6-foot-2, 176 pound netminder remained unfazed even as the Rocket players did their best to make life uncomfortable.

“He’s cool, calm, collected,” said Marlies defenceman William Villeneuve. “I’m super proud of him ... Arty is feeling himself right now. We just got to protect him a little bit more going to Cleveland.”

Laval’s Alex Belzile sticked Akhtyamov below the belt in the third period on Saturday before apologizing in the handshake line. It was only one example of how the Rocket tried to unsettle the young goalie.

“We talk about it with [goalie coach] Hannu [Toivonen],” said Akhtyamov. “It doesn’t matter.”So, he just blocks it out? “Block it out,” he repeated. “Exactly. Thank you.”

This is Akhtyamov’s first taste of playoff hockey in North America, but he did backstop Neftyanik Almetievsk to a VHL (a level below the KHL) title in 2024.

“He’s done it in Russia,” Gruden pointed out. “He’s won a championship. I don’t care what league it is; he’s a proven winner.”

After making his debut with the Marlies last season, Akhtyamov has quickly established himself as a goalie of the future in Toronto.

“It’s more of an East-West game over there,” Gruden said. “Not as much net front [action], bigger ice surfaces. He’s adapted.”

And he earned his first NHL look this season. Akhtyamov made his debut in a relief appearance for the Leafs in December and ended up making his first two NHL starts late in the season. While backing up during a game against the Florida Panthers late in the year, Akhtyamov shared a moment with childhood idol Sergei Bobrovsky.

“He was my favourite goalie when I was young so just [to] talk with him is important for me,” said Akhtyamov, who also received a congratulatory call from the two-time Vezina Trophy winner after signing a three-year contract extension in March.

But it’s another Russian goalie that Gruden believes is a better role model now.

“He reminds me a lot of [Ilya] Sorokin,” said Gruden, who was an assistant with the New York Islanders before coming to Toronto. “I had him on the Island when he first came over. They’re built very similar. And second thing is their competitiveness and ability to compete in practice all the time. They don’t like pucks going in the net. And just his ability to get across East-West so quickly, he’s so fluid with his skating and his feet. Very similar.”

---

Hildeby is a more imposing presence at 6-foot-7, 222 pounds and played more games than Akhtyamov in the NHL this season. He registered an impressive .914 save percentage in 20 appearances with the Leafs.

But now Hildeby finds himself as the backup despite owning a .921 in three playoff appearances.

“I mean, Arty’s got some good results there so definitely something for me to live up to if I get the chance,” the soft-spoken Swede said. “Just try and do my best.”

Hildeby picked up the win in a do-or-die game against Rochester in the first round before taking the loss in Game 1 against Laval. He replaced Akhtyamov for the third period of Game 4 when Laval was up 3-0, but the Russian got the call again for Game 5.

“He’s been great,” Gruden said of Hildeby. “He’s coming to work every day. Work habits have not changed. Nothing’s changed. He’s been supportive. At the back of his mind, he wants the net. But we also know we plan to keep playing so you just never know. Look at [Monday] night with [Mackenzie] Blackwood [starting for the Colorado Avalanche] so things can happen.”

Hildeby, who is in the first year of a three-year contract, will require waivers to be sent to the AHL next season.

With Anthony Stolarz set to start a new four-year extension next season and Joseph Woll only one year into his own three-year extension, the crease competition in Toronto is only just starting.

---

Villeneuve is leading all AHL defencemen with eight points in the playoffs. He picked up the primary assist on the game-winning goal on Saturday in Laval.

“He’s grown a lot,” said Gruden. “As a defencemen there’s always that ‘Oh crap’ moment where you can see a guy really grow and he’s starting to [do] that.”

Villeneuve made his NHL debut late in the season, getting into three games with the Leafs.

“Taking hits to make plays and growing his 200-foot game, because he got a little taste of it,” Gruden noted. “He got a taste of it and he’s bringing it down here and he’s running with it. He’s a big part of our hockey team. You can see the confidence grow for sure.”

The long-awaited chance with the Leafs represented a breakthrough moment for a 24-year-old right-shot who was drafted way back in 2020.

“Motivating is the best word,” the native of Sherbrooke, Que. said. “After four years [in the AHL], you know, sometimes you feel very far from the NHL and to get that look and to see what the speed’s like and that you can play at this level, it was very motivating for me. It gave me some confidence going into the playoffs so I’m trying to bring that with this group. Right now it’s going well, so just gotta keep going.”

---

The Marlies blueline is expected to get a boost on Thursday with Matt Benning, who missed the entire Laval series, poised to return from an undisclosed injury.

“What he does on the ice is one thing, but what he does in our locker room is another,” Gruden said. “We got a great group of older guys to mix with the younger and he’s just going to add more to it. He’s supportive. He’s an easy guy to play with. He’s played over 500 games in the NHL and he’s a winner.”

Benning, 31, skated on the third pair at practice beside Noah Chadwick.

Blake Smith, who scored in Game 5 in Laval on Saturday, is now on the fourth pair with 20-year-old Ben Danford, who joined the Marlies following the conclusion of his Ontario Hockey League season with the Brantford Bulldogs.

“He definitely looks comfortable,” Gruden said of Danford, who was Toronto’s first-round pick in 2024. “He’s been around for a couple camps now, which helps immensely. He was here at the beginning of the year when we went to Montreal [for the rookie showcase] so that helps. It’s going to take him some time to get used to it. It’s important he’s with us now. He’s a huge part of this organization and he’s a huge part of our group. I expect him to be a huge part of this as we move forward.”

---

Lines at Marlies practice on Tuesday:

Groulx - Shaw - Lettieri

Cowan - Quillan - Tverberg

Pare - Haymes - Nylander

Pezzetta - Johnstone - Johnson

Rifai - Thrun

Mermis - Villeneuve

Benning - Chadwick

Smith - Danford

Akhtyamov

Hildeby