When the Calgary Flames hit the ice on Saturday night against the Colorado Avalanche, they’re going to have an unfamiliar face between the pipes.

Via QR Calgary’s Derek Wills, the one change the Flames are making for the second half of their back-to-back set, which concludes on Saturday in Denver: rookie netminder Arsenii Sergeev will be in net against the Avalanche.

A seventh-round pick by the Flames in the 2020 NHL Draft, the 23-year-old Sergeev began the season with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and posted a 4-2-0 record over his first six appearances. He was summoned by the Flames from the farm on Friday morning following Wednesday’s injury to Flames netminder Devin Cooley.

Cooley was deemed out week-to-week and placed on the injury reserve. Sergeev dressed as backup to Dustin Wolf in the Flames’ 6-2 home win over the Seattle Kraken on Friday night. Wolf made 20 saves on 22 shots, and there was a line of thinking that perhaps the Flames might use Wolf on both halves of the back-to-back given Sergeev’s inexperience at the NHL level and how quiet the night was for Wolf.

After Friday night’s game, Flames head coach Ryan Huska was asked about the team’s confidence level in Sergeev during Cooley’s absence.

“He did a really good job last year when he came up and played a game for us,” said Huska. “He made a lot of saves that he probably shouldn’t have made. So I have a lot of confidence in his ability.”

The 2025-26 season was Sergeev’s first pro campaign after three seasons in the NCAA – two with the University of Connecticut and one with Penn State University –and he started the year with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush before moving up to the AHL after injuries to Ivan Prosvetov and Owen Say. Sergeev impressed with his competitiveness in his early starts, and he ended up as the club’s de facto starter even after Prosvetov returned to action.

Sergeev made his NHL debut in the Flames’ season finale last season, playing in place of an ill Cooley and picking up his first NHL win over the Los Angeles Kings.

The Flames face the Avalanche in the late game of Sportsnet’s Saturday Night Hockey.