Calgary Flames select Kirill Zarubin at 84th overall in 2024 NHL Draft
By Ryan Pike
2 days agoThe Calgary Flames have made their sixth pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. At 84th overall, the Flames have taken Russian goaltender Kirill Zarubin. This pick was acquired by the Flames from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Noah Hanifin trade.
Originally from Penza, Russia, Zarubin is listed at 6’4″ and 179 pounds. He’s one of the older players in this draft class, with a Sept. 20, 2005 birthday – if he were born a few days later, he would’ve been eligible for last year’s draft. Zarubin played the 2023-24 season primarily with AKM Tula of the top Russian junior circuit, the MHL (Minor Hockey League). He posted some really strong numbers this season with AKM Tula, going 15-7-6 with a 1.99 goals against average, .944 save percentage and five shutouts in 29 appearances. (He started the season with AKM Junior Tula, which isn’t near as good a team, and went 4-11-0 with a 4.32 goals against average and a .902 save percentage, but his year turned around once he moved to AKM Tula’s other team.)
Here’s what Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff wrote about Zarubin in his final rankings, placing him at 118th:
Zarubin’s had an outstanding run with Tula in the MHL, quickly establishing himself as one of the more promising young Russian goalies in this draft. He’s 6-foot-4 with great lateral quickness and reads plays so well through traffic. It can be difficult to evaluate Russian junior league goaltenders because quality can seriously lack, but his big frame, cool demeanour and puck tracking prowess makes him a solid option for a team looking to throw a flier.
Zarubin was not listed in either the NHL’s Central Scouting Services or Elite Prospects’ final draft rankings. He’s the fourth Russian-born goaltender drafted by the Flames since 2020, following Daniil Chechelev (2020), Arsenii Sergeev (2021) and Yegor Yegorov (2023).
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