New York Rangers’ prospect Igor Shestyorkin is off to another hot start in the KHL. It’s about time we checked in on the Rangers’ goalie of the future.
The New York Rangers know that Henrik Lundqvist’s career is winding down. Every year we watch him get one year closer to retirement. The day he decides to hang up the skates will most certainly be a bittersweet one.
The question has long since been, “who will replace him?” And rightfully so; Lundqvist is one of the greatest goalies of all time, someone who will have big skates to fill upon his absence. Fortunately, the Rangers lucked out and snagged Igor Shestyorkin in what was an otherwise abysmal 2014 draft.
We already know how good Shestyorkin is; we’ve seen it time and time again as many KHL seasons have come and gone. He is ultimately going to be relied on to be Henrik’s successor in New York. So, how has he been doing this year?
Exactly as expected, of course.
Shestyorkin’s Current Season & KHL Career
So far, Shestyorkin has been an absolute terror to play against. He is a perfect 6-0-0 with an utterly ridiculous 0.83 GAA, .966sv%, and three shutouts. In his six starts, he has given up just five goals on 146 shots against, averaging about 24 shots against per game.
The numbers get even more ridiculous when you factor in his career numbers. Through 100 KHL games, Shestyorkin has 76 wins, a 1.63 GAA, and a .932sv% with 20 shutouts. That means that over a quarter of Shestyorkin’s wins, and a fifth of his games played, have ended with him getting a shutout. He has two instances of long shutout streaks in his career: one of just under 200 minutes, another that spanned 272 minutes.
Let me first address some concerns: yes, Shestyorkin is not SKA’s starting goalie, in spite of his ludicrous career stats. That is less of a result of his play as it is a cultural thing in the SKA locker room. Veteran goalies have always taken precedence; before it was Mikko Koskinen, now it is Magnus Hellberg. Shestyorkin was replaced by Hellberg during a shutout streak, a clear identifier that something is different about how that team is run.
Secondly, Shestyorkin’s numbers are most certainly not propped up by SKA’s roster. As I have previously noted in the past, SKA is like the New York Yankees of the KHL. As a result, the team is often laden with highly paid stars. In spite of this, it has always seemed that SKA wishes to focus all their energy solely on offense; this leads to a lot of defensive breakdowns that Shestyorkin has to clean up.
Shestyorkin’s netminding style is the near polar opposite of his soon-to-be predecessor. Where Lundqvist is a more positionally sound goalie that prefers to anticipate shots before they come and react accordingly, Shestyorkin’s game is based fully on reflexes and acrobatics. He resembles guys like Tim Thomas or Dominik Hasek much more than your traditional goalie.
It is highly likely that Shestyorkin will be backing up Henrik next season, as his KHL contract ends this coming summer. There isn’t much fear of him staying in Russia; Shestyorkin has stated a desire to play in North America, has connections with a number of Rangers players and prospects, and is in situational limbo with SKA St. Petersburg.
It is certainly worth being excited about young Igor. The 22-year-old Russian is the next in line for what has been a phenomenal history with goalies for the New York Rangers. If all translates as expected, Igor Shestyorkin will be the Rangers next franchise starting ggoalie and could be the one that finally takes them to the Stanley Cup.