Toronto Marlies goaltender Artur Akhtyamov was named MVP of the Calder Cup playoffs, winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy. Toronto captured its first Calder Cup since 2018, defeating the Chicago Wolves on Friday night.

Akhtyamov was in tremendous form throughout the playoffs, finishing with a 15-7-0 record, two shutouts and a .923 save percentage. He was lauded by his teammates upon winning the award, with several Marlies bowing down to Akhtyamov. During the closeout game, the Marlies started Akhtyamov on back-to-back nights, and he finished Game 5 with 27 saves on 30 shots.

As the Marlies took their team photo, Akhtyamov held up a jersey of the late Rodion Amirov, who died in August 2023.

“Every goalie’s personality is different,” Marlies head coach John Gruden said of Akhtyamov following Friday’s Game 5. “I don’t expect someone to be the same as anyone else, but when it’s the way he does it, it’s pretty special. And then for him to be able to go through the game like that is awesome. What do they say about like champions who kind of radiate? Well, that’s not by accident either. You know, I think he just turned 21 years old. And I mean, all he does is win, win, win, win, win. That he does. He continues to grow, become a better player, it’s only a matter of time.”

Akhtyamov is already turning heads within the Maple Leafs’ organization. Maple Leafs GM John Chayka was in attendance once again for Game 5, and admitted earlier this week that Akhtyamov’s performance during the Calder Cup playoffs caught his attention.

“Yeah, I think it’s good in any good situation where you have organizational depth, you want the young players to force your hand a bit, and certainly the way that they played Dennis at the NHL level, even with AA (Artur Akhtyamov) with what he’s doing with the Marlies right now as a manager, definitely causes you to take notice and make plans,” Chayka said Tuesday, after trading Joseph Woll and Simon Benoit to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Emil Andrae, Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick.

Akhtyamov could be quickly graduating to the NHL on a full-time basis next season. In any event, he’s a Calder Cup champion and a rising star within the Maple Leafs’ organization.

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