Ilya Nikolayevich Bryzgalov ( ( listen); Russian: Il'ia Nikolaevich Bryzgalov; born 22 June 1980) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was selected in the second round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 44th overall, by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He has also played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild. In 2006-07 season, Bryzgalov won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks.

Bryzgalov started his professional career in his native Russia, splitting the 1999-2000 season between Spartak Moscow of the Russian Supreme League (RSL-2) and Lada Togliatti of the Russian Superleague (RSL). Bryzgalov played two seasons with Lada Togliatti before joining the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who had drafted him in the second round, 44th overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.  However, with Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Martin Gerber ahead of him in the club's depth chart, Bryzgalov spent the better part of his first four seasons in North America with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the American Hockey League (AHL). He made his Mighty Ducks debut in 2001-02, playing in his first of two games during that four-season stretch.  With the departure of backup Gerber, Bryzgalov took over behind Giguere in 2005-06 season. However, injuries to the Ducks starter allowed Bryzgalov to play more games than he otherwise would have and he responded to the challenge with a 13-12-1 record with a 2.51 goals against average (GAA) and .910 save percentage. In the subsequent playoffs, Bryzgalov made three starts and one relief appearance for the Ducks in their first-round series against the Calgary Flames. In Game 1, he filled-in for an injured Giguere, taking a 2-1 overtime loss. He relieved Giguere once more in Game 5 and stopped all 19 shots he faced in a 3-2 loss. He then took over the starting job for Games 6 and 7 of the series, winning 2-1 in Game 6 and recording a shutout in the decisive Game 7. Moving past the Flames, Bryzgalov then recorded 5-0 and 3-0 shutouts in the first two games of the second series against the Colorado Avalanche for three consecutive shutouts. He tied Frank McCool's 1945 playoff record for most consecutive shutouts by a rookie and passed Giguere, who had recorded consecutive shutouts in 2003 for the third-longest playoff shutout streak of all time. Despite his success in the first two rounds, Bryzgalov struggled in the semi-finals against the Edmonton Oilers and was eventually replaced by Giguere for the rest of the series as the Ducks were eliminated in five games.  Bryzgalov continued to play backup to Giguere the following season and into the 2007 playoffs. Bryzgalov made comments regarding Anaheim Ducks Head Coach Randy Carlyle, saying he believed Carlyle has no confidence in him. However, he briefly took over as the starter for the first four games of the Western Conference Quarter-Finals, winning three games as Giguere took a leave of absence with personal issues. Bryzgalov came in for relief in the Western Conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings, but remained on the bench as the Ducks went on to defeat the Ottawa Senators in the Finals in five games to win the franchise's, and Bryzgalov's, first Stanley Cup.

Using a quote from the above article, answer the following question: what else did he do in his early years?
Bryzgalov continued to play backup to Giguere the following season and into the 2007 playoffs.