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FN AHL Report Cards: Arsenii Sergeev’s capitalized on opportunities and earned his first NHL start
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Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
Jul 2, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 2, 2026, 00:16 EDT
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The development cycle between the Calgary Flames’ affiliate teams works. While this might not be the case for every player involved, there are stories that come out even disappointing seasons that prove this. Arsenii Sergeev was one of the biggest development wins for the Rapid City Rush, Calgary Wranglers and Calgary Flames this season. The majority of the fanbase was introduced to him in mid-April in the last game of the Flames’ season and a game that nearly no one would complain about him losing. Instead, he went out and stole a game from the LA Kings for his first NHL win.

What were the expectations for Arsenii Sergeev in 2025-26?

Arsenii Sergeev was a college signing out of Pitt State University at the end of the 2024-2025 season. He joined the Wranglers on an ATO and got to know the team a bit and get his reps in at practice, but did not get into any games. The Wranglers were down to the wire for a playoff spot and they couldn’t risk games once Sergeev was with the team. The Russian netminder finished his year with Penn State with 33 games played, a winning 19-9-4 record, a 2.55 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
The expectations for Sergeev were what you’d predict for an NCAA graduated goaltender. He was new to professional hockey and at least gave the team options in between the pipes down the depth chart. The way it lined up, Sergeev was expected to battle Owen Say for the AHL back up spot and if not, be the Rapid City Rush starter in the ECHL. 

How did Arsenii Sergeev perform in 2025-26?

Sergeev’s season started how you’d expect for him. He was pushed out of the AHL with Ivan Prosvetov and Owen Say earning spots and was the Rush’s starter for 12 games to kick off the season. He put up a .500 record in this time with six wins and six losses. His GAA was 2.94 in the ECHL and his save percentage was .922. This earned him an ECHL All-Star spot for the Rush but by the time the All-Star game took place, Sergeev was needed with the Wranglers and couldn’t participate. 
Arsenii Sergeev was initially called up to the AHL when Ivan Prosvetov was first injured and needed to stay longer, as Owen Say also suffered an injury that ended up being season ending in early 2026. Sergeev’s first start was in front of the Wranglers’ largest crowd of the year for their Winter Wranglerfest game. He picked up the win in his first AHL start and had a lot of fun doing it, even with a record-breaking 52-save debut. Due to the injuries, Sergeev stayed with the Wranglers for the rest of the season and finished with a 6-13-8 record. His save percentage in the AHL was .898 and his GAA was 3.35. 
This 23-year-old Russian netminder instilled trust in his AHL teammates when the team was struggling to put things together. Even in games where scoring was at a premium, Sergeev was performing in a way to at least give them a chance. His work ethic and efforts were recognized by the big club at the end of the year and when Devin Cooley was out sick for the Flames’ season finale, Sergeev ended up being a same day call up. 
Sergeev gleamed about this experience and talked about it at Wranglers exit interviews and said:
“Nobody expected the guy from the East Coast was gonna win the game in the NHL. I just do my job and I do it to the best of my abilities.”
As the opportunities racked up, so did Sergeev’s confidence. He outperformed his expected season by quite a bit this year and appeared in games in three different leagues. An ECHL to AHL to NHL jump is pretty unprecedented over the course of the seven to eight months. As his role changed, he continued to adapt. Sergeev said:
“The thing that helped me is I was being consistent in my game. Even if the score was a tied score or if the goals were hard to catch and we were in some difficult situations. You couldn’t do much about them. I feel like my game was developing every single game where I played. It’s what’s helped me to be where I’ve been right now by playing that many games.”

What’s the future outlook for Arsenii Sergeev?

Arsenii Sergeev is still signed on for another year and will likely compete for the starting role with the Calgary Wranglers. Owen Say needs a contract but is expected to be back with the organization once he is medically cleared, so the two can have some healthy competition for playing time. It’ll probably start as a pretty split role with Say coming back from knee surgery and with Kirill Zarubin signed as well, someone is going to be pushed down to the ECHL. Historically in this position, time in the ECHL doesn’t mean you won’t see AHL games, with call-up scenarios and injuries common in this position. 
Sergeev is going to be hungry for more NHL time and proved he can play at that level, however, it was in a pretty low stakes game. With a limited preseason schedule, he won’t have much time to show his off-season development in the Fall, but the team will keep a close eye on his performance with the Wranglers. Arsenii Sergeev enters a season where he needs to prove to continue to be reliable so he can earn another contract with this team and continue to be considered as part of their goaltending depth in the future.

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