Montreal Canadiens Suddenly Have Plethora Of Great Goaltending Prospects

Yevgeni Volokhin

One of the biggest surprises at the Habs 2023 NHL Draft was them taking a third goaltender in the same draft. Yevegeni Volokhin was taken in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick which was a bit of a surprise as the team had already taken a pair of goaltenders.

Volokhin played the 2022-23 season in Russia’s MHL, which is their top Junior Under-20 league and he had impressive numbers. He posted a 2.12 GAA and a .927 SV% in 31 games with Mamonty Yugry and then had a 2.52 GAA with a .931 SV% in five playoff games.

Volokhin has been ever better this season. The 18 year old netminder has posted a ridiculous 1.57 GAA with a .937 SV% in 15 games to begin this summer. He leads the league in GAA among regulars and also has the fourth best SV% in the MHL.

The bonus to drafting a player out of Russia is that the NHL team retains their rights basically forever. There is no rush to sign him and bring him to North America and the Canadiens can just allow him to continue developing in Russia for several years if they choose. He will eventually take on a role in the KHL, which has proven to be a great development league for goaltenders recently.

Of course, there is also the risk that the player just decides to stay in Russia forever as many players have done in the past. But, if he is the third goalie you are drafting, you can afford to roll that dice.

All we know for now is that Volokhin is absolutely dominating the top Junior league in Russia and that is fantastic.