"I asked my dad to buy me TPS pads and blocker and glove," Shesterkin said. "He told me, 'No, we don't have money for that.' I said, 'OK, next time I will buy by myself.'"
Shesterkin has followed in Lundqvist's footsteps ever since, from getting drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round (No. 118) of the 2014 NHL Draft, to replacing his idol as New York's No. 1 goaltender at the start of the 2020-21 season.
On Tuesday, Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy as the League's best goaltender at the 2022 NHL Awards, 10 years after Lundqvist won the award in 2012.
Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames, who finished second, and Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators, who was third, were the other finalists for the award, which was voted on by NHL general managers before the Stanley Cup Playoffs began.
"[Lundqvist] was a very good goalie and was so fun to watch how he played," Shesterkin said.
Many hockey fans describe the athletic and technically sound Shesterkin the same way.
The 26-year-old was 36-13-4 this season and led the NHL with a 2.07 goals-against average and .935 save percentage (minimum 20 games). He was also third in shutouts (six), sixth in wins, and had a save percentage of at least .940 in 26 starts.
Shesterkin's .935 save percentage was third all-time in a single season among goalies to play at least 50 games, behind Tim Thomas (.938 with the Boston Bruins in 2010-11) and Dominik Hasek (.937 with the Buffalo Sabres in 1998-99), and his .929 save percentage against the opposition's power play was second in the NHL, a big reason why New York ranked second in goals against per game (2.49) and seventh on the penalty kill (82.3 percent).
"He kept us in games early in the year we weren't supposed to win," Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said when Shesterkin was named a Vezina finalist on May 10. "You have a lot more confidence when he's in the net that if a mistake happens, he'll have your back."
When Shesterkin first reached the NHL, he said he didn't think about winning the Vezina Trophy. But during a preseason game against the New York Islanders, he noticed a fan holding a picture of him that said, "Future Vezina Trophy Winner."
"I think, 'Why not, we have a good team for that,'" Shesterkin said. "Everybody helped me so much with that. [It's a] team win."
Shesterkin continued his Vezina-caliber play this postseason, helping lead the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
"[It's] so difficult because we had a very good team and we deserved to play in the Final," he said. "So I think it was a really good experience for us and so we will get stronger next season."
That doesn't mean he hasn't watched every game of the Stanley Cup Final between the Lightning and Colorado Avalanche, though.
"I have time," he said with a slight smile.
