Gang, we’ve got some bad news for you. Calgary Flames netminder Devin Cooley, who was by all accounts (particularly those from Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg) expected to start on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings, is under the weather.

With Cooley unavailable, the Flames have made a call to the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and called up the only other healthy netminder under an NHL contract: rookie Arsenii Sergeev, who has been brought in on an emergency basis to cover for Cooley. Fellow Wranglers netminders Ivan Prosvetov and Owen Say are both injured and thus unavailable for a recall.

Per Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg, Sergeev was in the starter’s net for Thursday’s morning skate.

Sergeev is a fascinating player, gang.

A Russian product originally from Yaroslavl, Sergeev moved to North America in 2019 (prior to his 16th birthday) to pursue his NHL dreams. He bounced around three different teams in three different leagues in 2019-20, but landed with the North American Hockey League’s Shreveport MudBugs in 2020-21 and excelled, backstopping that club to a league title. He was drafted by the Flames in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Sergeev spent 2021-22 with the United States Hockey League’s Tri-City Storm, being named that league’s top goaltender. He then spent two seasons with the University of Connecticut Huskies in the NCAA, where he was usually part of a tandem. Looking for a chance to be the top guy, he transferred to Penn State University for 2024-25 and ended up leading them to the Frozen Four, going on a run from January to April 2025 that was one of the best runs by a college netminder in years. He signed his entry-level deal with the Flames following Penn State’s elimination in the national semi-final round.

This season, Sergeev has split the year between the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush and the AHL’s Wranglers. He went 6-6-0 with a 2.94 goals against average and .922 save percentage with Rapid City. He was called up to the Wranglers after Prosvetov was hurt and stuck around after Say was hurt. With a work-in-progress defensive group in front of him in the AHL, he’s gone 5-13-12 with a 3.29 goals against average and .898 save percentage. In the context of the team and league he’s been in, he’s been having a really solid first pro season.

The Flames conclude their regular season on Thursday against the Kings.