There’s a solid chance that the next good Calgary Flames goaltending prospect will come out of Russia.
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In the past five drafts, the Flames have drafted four netminders, all of whom are Russian. The 2020 draft saw them select Daniil Chechelev, who played 75 games in North America before returning back to Russia beginning in the 2023-24 season. In the 2021 draft, they selected Arsenii Sergeev, who has been producing solid results with Penn State University in his junior collegiate season.
With only three picks in the 2022 draft, the Flames didn’t draft a netminder, Russian or not, but getting back on the Russian netminder grind and <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2023/06/29/calgary-flames-select-x-at-176th-overall-in-2023-nhl-draft/">picking Yegor Yegorov (Yegor x2) with their sixth-round pick</a>. In the 2024 draft, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2024/06/29/calgary-flames-select-kirill-zarubin-at-84th-overall-in-2024-nhl-draft/">they selected Kirill Zarubin with the 84th overall pick</a>, who happens to be today’s prospect we’ll look at.
Interestingly, the pick used to select Zarubin was acquired from the Dallas Stars for Noah Hanifin, meaning he’s part of the gigantic Curtis Glencross trade tree. After playing with Dizel Penza’s u16 team in 2019-20 and AKM Novomoskovsk u18 team in 2020-21, Zarubin made his NMHL debut in 2021-22 with Dizelist Penza, posting a .906 save percentage and a 2.70 goals against average in 16 games played in Russia’s second-tier junior league.
The 2022-23 season was spent with Tula Mikhailov Academy’s U18 team, where he had a .901 save percentage and a 3.67 goals against average in 25 games played. In 2023-24, his draft season, he split time between their u18 team and their u20 team. His numbers with their u20 were significantly better, posting a .944 save percentage and a 1.99 goals against average in 29 games.
This led to the Flames selecting the 6’4” Russian netminder with the 84th overall pick. Heading into the 2024-25 season, <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnations-2024-calgary-flames-prospect-rankings-18-kirill-zarubin">Zarubin ranked as our 18th-best prospect</a>. According to <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-nhl-draft-the-top-15-goalies">Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis</a>, Zarubin ranked as the 11th-best goaltender in the 2024 draft class, with his scouting report noting that the netminder moves well laterally and has a big frame.
So far in the 2024-25 season, Zarubin has a .933 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average in 16 games with Mikhailov Academy, still great, but slightly worse than his numbers last season. Unfortunately, Ilya Kanarsky has gotten the lion’s share of the game this season, playing 30 games with a .935 save percentage and a 2.34 goals against average. It’s worth noting that Kanarsky is a year older.
The Flames retain Zarubin’s rights indefinitely, meaning they can let him percolate in Russia. Hopefully, he’ll get an opportunity in the Kontinental Hockey League in the coming years or even better, come to North America.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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There’s a solid chance that the next good Calgary Flames goaltending prospect will come out of Russia.
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In the past five drafts, the Flames have drafted four netminders, all of whom are Russian. The 2020 draft saw them select Daniil Chechelev, who played 75 games in North America before returning back to Russia beginning in the 2023-24 season. In the 2021 draft, they selected Arsenii Sergeev, who has been producing solid results with Penn State University in his junior collegiate season.

With only three picks in the 2022 draft, the Flames didn’t draft a netminder, Russian or not, but getting back on the Russian netminder grind and <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2023/06/29/calgary-flames-select-x-at-176th-overall-in-2023-nhl-draft/">picking Yegor Yegorov (Yegor x2) with their sixth-round pick</a>. In the 2024 draft, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2024/06/29/calgary-flames-select-kirill-zarubin-at-84th-overall-in-2024-nhl-draft/">they selected Kirill Zarubin with the 84th overall pick</a>, who happens to be today’s prospect we’ll look at.

Interestingly, the pick used to select Zarubin was acquired from the Dallas Stars for Noah Hanifin, meaning he’s part of the gigantic Curtis Glencross trade tree. After playing with Dizel Penza’s u16 team in 2019-20 and AKM Novomoskovsk u18 team in 2020-21, Zarubin made his NMHL debut in 2021-22 with Dizelist Penza, posting a .906 save percentage and a 2.70 goals against average in 16 games played in Russia’s second-tier junior league.

The 2022-23 season was spent with Tula Mikhailov Academy’s U18 team, where he had a .901 save percentage and a 3.67 goals against average in 25 games played. In 2023-24, his draft season, he split time between their u18 team and their u20 team. His numbers with their u20 were significantly better, posting a .944 save percentage and a 1.99 goals against average in 29 games.

This led to the Flames selecting the 6’4” Russian netminder with the 84th overall pick. Heading into the 2024-25 season, <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/flamesnations-2024-calgary-flames-prospect-rankings-18-kirill-zarubin">Zarubin ranked as our 18th-best prospect</a>. According to <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2024-nhl-draft-the-top-15-goalies">Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis</a>, Zarubin ranked as the 11th-best goaltender in the 2024 draft class, with his scouting report noting that the netminder moves well laterally and has a big frame.

So far in the 2024-25 season, Zarubin has a .933 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average in 16 games with Mikhailov Academy, still great, but slightly worse than his numbers last season. Unfortunately, Ilya Kanarsky has gotten the lion’s share of the game this season, playing 30 games with a .935 save percentage and a 2.34 goals against average. It’s worth noting that Kanarsky is a year older.

The Flames retain Zarubin’s rights indefinitely, meaning they can let him percolate in Russia. Hopefully, he’ll get an opportunity in the Kontinental Hockey League in the coming years or even better, come to North America.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

Sponsored by bet365:
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Kirill Zarubin is one of many Russian goaltenders the Flames have drafted the past five years

Calgary Flames goaltender Daniel Vladar (80) and goaltender Dustin Wolf (32) celebrate after a shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild at Scotiabank Saddledome

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