Kochetkov named NHL Rookie of the Month
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov was named NHL Rookie of the Month after going 7-0-1 through the month of December.
In December, Kochetkov had a .939 save percentage and a 1.63 goals-against average and posted two shutouts against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings.
On the season, Kochetkov is 10-1-4 and ranks second in the league in goals-against-average (1.94) and save percentage (.928). His three shutouts for the season are also tied for the league lead.
PRESS RELEASE:
KOCHETKOV NAMED NHL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Netminder posted a 7-0-1 record in December
RALEIGH, NC – The National Hockey League today announced that Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has been named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for December.
Kochetkov, 23, was 7-0-1 with a 1.63 goals-against average, .939 save percentage and two shutouts in eight appearances in December. Among NHL goaltenders with at least five games played last month, he ranked first in goals-against average, tied for first in shutouts, third in save percentage and fifth in wins, leading rookie goaltenders in all four categories. Kochetkov joined Peter Sidorkiewicz (March 1989) as the second Whalers/Hurricanes rookie to record two shutouts in a calendar month, and with three shutouts this season he is just one shutout away from tying the record. a season in the Sidorkiewicz franchise for shutouts by a rookie (4). The 6’3″, 193-pound goaltender held opponents scoreless for 151:26 in three games from December 10-15, marking the sixth-longest shutout streak in franchise history and the longest in all Whalers/Hurricanes rookies His consecutive shutout streak included back-to-back shutouts against the Islanders on Dec. 10 and the Red Wings on Dec. 13, as he became the first Hurricanes goaltender to post consecutive shutouts since Kevin Weekes in 2003-04.
Kochetkov is 13-1-4 with a 2.01 goals-against average, .924 save percentage and three shutouts in 18 career NHL games with Carolina. He went 3-0-0 with the Hurricanes last season, becoming the 11th goaltender in NHL history to earn his first three career wins in four days and the first to accomplish a feat in three games on the road. Kochetkov is 9-0-4 in 13 career road appearances, joining Andrew Hammond (Ottawa, 2015) as the second goaltender in league history to score a point in each of his 13 or more first games on the road. He is the second Hurricanes goaltender to be named NHL Rookie of the Month (Alex Nedeljkovic, March 2021), and he became the fifth Hurricanes goaltender to earn monthly NHL honors, joining Nedeljkovic, Cam Ward ( First Star, March 2009), Anton Khudobin (First Star, January 2014) and Frederik Andersen (Third Star, October 2021).
Kochetkov started the season with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) and posted a 15-3-2 record, 2.09 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in 20 AHL career games. He also went 5-1 in six playoff appearances last season to help Wolves win the Calder Cup. The native of Penza, Russia played 49 career games in the Continental Hockey League (KHL) with Sochi, St. Petersburg, Vityaz and Nizhny Novgorod from 2018-22, going 16-25-3, a 2.48 goals-against average and .920 saves. percentage and three shutouts. Selected by Carolina in the second round, 36th overall, of the 2019 NHL Draft, Kochetkov signed a four-year contract extension with the Hurricanes on November 23, 2022.