The Winnipeg Jets announced they have signed USHL goaltender Mikhail Berdin to a three-year entry-level contract. The 20-year-old goaltender was the Jets’ sixth-round pick in the 2016 draft and then came over from Russia to play for the Sioux Falls Stampede for the past two years.
In the USHL, the young goalie has been dominant. In the 2016-17 season, he picked up 14 wins in 31 games and had a 2.73 GAA and an impressive .925 save percentage. He took that to a new level this past season when he won 24 games in 45 appearances. He had a 2.65 GAA and a .921 save percentage this year. His save percentage ranked him fourth in the USHL and he was named goaltender of the week three times in the last two years.
At 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, Berdin is known to have quick reflexes and is adept at blocking difficult to track shots. He is known to have a good hockey mind. Internationally, he won a silver medal for Russia in the 2015 World Junior A Challenge with a 0.80 GAA and a .968 save percentage.