How Shesterkin stacks up against goalies from 2014 draft
By Ryan Gagne
The 2014 NHL Entry Draft took place on June 27-28, 2014, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There were 210 draft-eligible players selected, with Aaron Ekblad going first overall to the Florida Panthers. As usual, the New York Rangers had traded away their first round pick, the second time in four consecutive seasons.
21 goalies heard their name called, with Mason McDonald going first. The Calgary Flames selected the 18-year-old prospect with the 34th overall pick. McDonald was joined by four other goalies in the second round, followed by three more in the third round.
The Rangers acquired the 118th overall selection in a trade with the Washington Capitals. When it was their turn to pick, they selected their second goalie of the draft, Igor Shesterkin. The Russian netminder was the sixth goalie chosen in the fourth round and the 15th goalie in the draft.
Goalies from this draft class who have yet to reach the NHL include McDonald, Linus Soderstrom (95th overall), Zachary Nagelvoort (111th), Brent Moran (115th), Chase Perry (136th), Alec Dillon (150th), Maximilian Pajpach (174th), Hayden Hawkey (177th), Ivan Nalimov (179th), Hugo Fagerblom (182nd), and Kevin Bouchard (183rd).
Out of the 10 goalies who have already made their way into the league, the bulk of them are already number one goalies or have a shot at taking over the role in the immediate future. Another interesting note is that eight were born outside North America, with only two Americans (Thatcher Demko and Brandon Halverson) in the fold.
The position has a bright future with these young guns, who are all on their way to becoming household names across the continent. When historians look back at this particular draft class, they may end up realizing this was one of the very best.
10. Brandon Halverson – New York Rangers 59th overall
The Rangers selected Halverson in the second round and hoped the netminder, brilliant with the Soo Greyhounds from 2013-16, would find his way into the NHL. Unfortunately, Halverson made only one appearance, playing 12:33 minutes in a 6-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
After his entry-level contract ran out, the Rangers opted not to re-sign him since Halverson had a losing record (18-23-3) with the Hartford Wolfpack from 2016-19. Since his release, Halverson has bounced around the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL.
9. Ville Husso – St. Louis Blues – 94th Overall
Husso made his NHL debut during the 2020-21 season, seeing action in 17 games. He produced a 9-6-1 record with a 3.20 goals-against average (GAA) and .893 save percentage (SV%).
Despite being drafted in 2014, Husso took the long road to an NHL crease. After the draft, he stayed in Finland to play with HIFK in Liiga, the country’s top professional league. He came to North America in 2016-17 to play in the AHL and ECHL before finding a home with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) before a call-up with the Blues.
8. Jonas Johansson – Buffalo Sabres – 61st Overall
Johansson joined the Sabres during the 2019-20 season, playing 327 minutes in six games. On a team that struggled in the standings, Johansson produced a 1-3-1 record with a 2.94 GAA and .894 SV%. He returned to the Sabres in 2020-21 before a trade sent him to the Colorado Avalanche.
Before Johansson came to North America in 2017-18, he worked his way through the ranks of the Sweden Hockey League. He bounced between the AHL and ECHL for three seasons, posting a 14-4-3 record in 2019-20 with the Rochester Americans. The native of Galve, Sweden, has a 6-9-3 record in 21 NHL games with a 2.89 GAA and .896 SV%.
7. Ilya Sorokin – New York Islanders – 78th Overall
Sorokin turned out to be one of the Islander’s best-kept secrets. Even though the team was in safe hands with Semyon Varlamov, Sorokin made his debut in 2020-21, and the Russian duo led the team to game seven of the semi-finals.
Before taking the NHL by storm in 2021, Sorokin was a star in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), compiling a 134-64-22 record in 244 games. He also won a gold medal with the Olympic Athletes from Russia in 2018. So far in the NHL, Sorokin has a 13-6-3 record with a 2.17 GAA and .918 SV%.
6. Kaapo Kahkonen – Minnesota Wild – 109th Overall
Kahkonen recently found a full-time job with the Wild in 2020-21, where he played a career-high 24 games. He bounced between the AHL and NHL in 2019-20, seeing action in a combined 39 games with just five with Minnesota. His career totals, so far, are 19-9-1 with a 2.90 GAA and .904 SV%.
The native of Helsinki, Finland, didn’t sign an NHL entry-level contract until 2018, opting to stay in his home country and play in Liiga. Although his 2.43 GAA and .918 SV% statistics were impressive, his record was not stellar at 38-50-27. Kahkonen helped Finland win the gold medal at the 2016 World Junior Championships (WJC).