Observations:

February 2017 – With the departure of Ben Bishop to Los Angeles prior to the trade deadline, Vasilevskiy unofficially takes over starting duties in Tampa. With a little pressure from veteran and newcomer Peter Budaj, Vas will likely be allowed a little more leash than he was granted with Bishop hot on his heels. Barring a catastrophic finish to the regular season, he should enter the 2017-18 campaign with a new window of opportunity with a healthy Lightning lineup in-front of him. Brayden Olafson

September 2016 – Andrei Vasilevskiy will be backing up Sergei Bobrovsky and Semyon Varlamov for his native Russia at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Camps started at the beginning of the month, which is where Vasilevskiy will need to really impress if he would like to see any ice time. Max Marko

September 2016 – Vasilevskiy will challenge Ben Bishop for starts with the Lightning this season after again being put into the fire spelling Bishop from an injury in the playoffs for the second straight year. With expansion uncertainty looming, and salary cap concerns, Vasilevskiy looks more and more like the goalie of the future in Tampa Peter Harling

January 2016 – Vasilevskiy's supposed breakout year did not start as planned, as the netminder required surgery to remove a blood clot in September 2015 and missed over two months. Once returning to the Lightning, his play was less than stellar, but has improved of late resulting in a 2.80 GAA and 0.910 SV% in 11 games so far. He has played 10 AHL games on conditioning stints, where he holds a 2.03 GAA and a 0.932 SV%. The talent is still there, and Vasilevskiy will still become a great goalie one day, but his timelime has been slightly delayed and barring an injury to Bishop he will have to wait patiently to prove he is an NHL starter. Hayden Soboleski

October 2014 – After attending Tampa Bay's training camp, Vasilevskiy was assigned to Syracuse(AHL) where he'll battle Latvian Olympic hero Kristers Gudlevskis for starts. Randall Buschmann

February 2014 – Vasilevskiy backstopped Russia to a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship last month. He finished the tournament with four wins in six games, 1.83 goals against average and .933 save percentage. Vasilevskiy continues to serve as the starting goaltender for UFA Salavat(KHL). He's not only one of the youngest players currently playing in the KHL, but also the youngest starting goaltender in the league. Recently in an interview Pat Verbeek, Tampa Bay's Director of Player Personnel, it was revealed Vasilevskiy is scheduled to cross the pond and play in North America next season, likely starting with Syracuse(AHL). Randall Buschmann

December 2013 – Russia will turn to goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to help chase gold at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Malmo, Sweden. Vasilevskiy is among a small group of goaltenders that will be contenders to win the Top Goaltender honours of the tournament and his experience on the big stage should not be overlooked. In 19 games with Ufa of the KHL, Vasilevskiy has a shining 2.32 GAA and .923 save percentage. Brendan Ross

June 2013 – Vasilevskiy continued to shine as a top three goaltending prospect in the world with another stellar season. Vasilevski finished the 2012-13 season off with a sparkling 1.93 goals against average and .930 save percentage in 27 games playing in the MHL, Russia's top junior level league. He also managed eight games in Russia's top professional league, the KHL, sporting an impressive 2.22 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. In addition, Vasilevski won a bronze medal with Russia at the World Junior Championships. The CHL's recent decision to ban European goaltenders does not affect Vasilevskiy since he's already been drafted by an NHL club. Currently, there has been no decision made as to where Vasilevskiy will play for the 2013-14 season. There's been speculation that Lightning management wants Vasilevski to play in North America for this coming season. Mississauga of the OHL currently owns his North American junior rights. However, Vasilevskiy is also eligible to play for Tampa Bay's AHL affiliate in Syracuse. Randy Buschmann

November 2012 – Andrey Vasilevskiy continues to show all signs of an elite goaltender prospect after earning Player of the Game honours in SUBWAY Super Series games 1 and 4 making 31 and 29 saves respectively. Vasilevskiy possesses the athleticism, reflexes and size to dominate the blue paint and appears as any recent netminder to come along. Brendan Ross

October 2012 – Andrei Vasilevskiy was named to the 2012 Subway Super Series Team Russia Roster slated to compete in a six-game series against the Canadian Hockey League all-star teams from the QMJHL, OHL and WHL in November. Brendan Ross

June 2012 – Tampa Bay selects Andrey Vasilevskiy as the first goaltender off the draft board with their 19th overall pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Brendan Ross

March 2012  – Andrey Vasilevskiy has the potential to be something truly special. The 17-year-old has tremendously quick legs and impressive flexibility which allow him to make the most difficult saves appear routine. Technically, his game is quite refined and he always squares up to opposing shooters. Playing in Russia’s MHL in 2011-12, Vasilevski put together a tidy 2.23 goals against average and a stingy .931 save percentage. He was nothing short of stifling at the 2012 World Junior Championships, making Sergei Bobrovsky’s noteworthy performance as a 19-year-old at the 2008 World Junior Championships seem trivial by comparison. John Canario

Fantasy Outlook: A

Vasilevskiy is at the reigns in Tampa. His opportunity is now to take the final step in graduating from, in any sense of the word, a prospect and into a reliable NHL starter. He is still young and has an extremely bright future on the gulf coast.

Footage:

Andrey Vasilevskiy robs Jonathan Huberdeau at the World Juniors:

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