Calgary Flames goalies in the system drafted since Dustin Wolf

Recently, the Calgary Flames reassigned goaltender Dustin Wolf to the AHL’s Wranglers, as longtime starter, Jacob Markstrom, returned to the Calgary Flames‘ crease last night versus the Habs. Wolf had a well fought effort in his sole game against Ottawa, making 34 saves on 38 shots. While the general Flames fan is well informed about the goaltending triangle of Wolf-Markstorm-Vladar and is likely familiar with the Wranglers’ other goaltender, Oscar Dansk, as well, all of this goalie action in Calgary triggered me to have a look at Flames goalies drafted since selecting Wolf 214th overall in 2019.

Flames goalie draft picks since Dustin Wolf

1. Daniil Chechelev | Age: 22 | Selected: 2020, 4th round, 96th overall

The 6’3″ goaltender from Khabarovsk, Russia attracted the Flames’ attention after posting a .922 in 49 starts in the MHL (Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga) in the 2019-20 season. After posting stellar numbers again in 2020-21 (.924 in the MHL) and (.912 in the Vysshaya Hokkeinaya Liga), Chechelev decided to take his career to North America. He has had a bumpy landing in North American pro hockey these last two years. The MHL product struggled with Flames’ ECHL affiliate Rapid City Rush posting a 3.60 GAA and a .894 save percentage over 72 starts. He also wore a Heat/Wranglers jersey on three separate occasions, sporting a .870 and 3.83 GAA. Despite his decent tracking and athleticism, Chechelev struggles on the smaller North American rinks as it shrinks reaction time, which poses a significant problem for NHL potential. Chechelev has yet to play a game for either club in the 2023-2024 season.

2. Arseni Sergeev (Sergeyev) | Age: 20 | Selected: 2021, 7th round, 205th overall

A Yaroslavl, Russia native, Sergeev brought his game over to North America as a junior, having a successful stint with the NAHL’s Shreveport Mudbugs with a sparkling .936 save percentage and 2.17 GAA in his draft year. This got him on the Calgary Flames radar, as the organization selected him at the tail end of the 2021 draft. From there, he made the jump to the USHL with the Tri-City Storm, where he was named USHL goaltender of the year for 2021-22 with league-best GAA and save percentage numbers: 2.08 and .918 respectively in 41 games. The talented Russian committed to NCAA Division I hockey with the University of Connecticut starting in the 2022-23 season where he led all rookie tendies with a .912 save percentage. In a slight reversal of fortunes, Sergeev has struggled in the early portion of his sophomore season, sitting at a .897 in six games so far. The NCAA sophomore plays entertaining hockey as a new age goaltender that has great athleticism that allows him to rob skaters of surefire goals, a good glove hand, and decent rebound control. Flames fans might just want to keep an eye on Hockey East this year.

3. Yegor Yegorov | Age: 18 | Selected: 2023, 6th round, 176th overall

The impeccably named Yegorov turned heads this past season in with MHK Dynamo Moskva producing a .915 and 2.29 GAA in 15 starts. With limited ice time, the expectation and hope for the young Russian would be to get more reps in this season, while growing his game and hopefully growing (in the literal sense). The 18-year-old netminder stands at 6’3″ and – very uniquely – catches left. Another thing that he’s catching is more starts, as he’s appeared for MHK Dynamo Moskva nine times this season already posting a respectable .914 SV%. He’s a young goalie with a Russian contract that doesn’t run out until 2024-25, so he has lots of time to develop all aspects of his game.