WEST VALLEY CITY — The Utah Grizzlies have been playing their best hockey of the season after the Christmas break. The Grizzlies' strong play has come from a lot of great scoring chances, defensive play on the penalty kill and finally some great play from their goaltenders.
One of the Grizzlies' goaltenders is Igor Bobkov, who was selected by the Anaheim Ducks back in the 2009 NHL entry draft when he was the 76th overall selection.
Over his career he has been recognized as “Best Goaltender” at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championship and helped Russia win silver that year.
In 2011, Bobkov helped the Russia junior team come from behind to win the gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championships.
This season, Bobkov is unbeaten in his last 10 starts in the Grizzlies' goal, where he was been called up back and forth throughout the season with the Norfolk Admirals. Bobkov has been recognized for his play in the ECHL, where he has been named Goalie of the Week.
Bobkov, who is from Surgut, Russia, said that “it was hard to follow the Olympics this year with the games being played at 5:30 (in the morning),” but when asked if Russia had a gold medal team this year, his response was “they always do.”
Now that Russia is out of the Olympics, Bobkov said he sees “Sweden taking on U.S.A in the gold medal game with Sweden winning.”
Igor Bobkov and the Utah Grizzlies will look to keep their winning ways up as they play their final three-game homestand on Friday night against the Idaho Steelheads, who they are chasing in the Western Conference standings.
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