One of the stories of the NCAA season was the goaltending at Quinnipiac, where Yaniv Perets stepped into the spotlight in a big way. The undrafted 22-year-old netminder posted a 22-5-2 record, .939 save percentage, and record-breaking 1.17 goals-against average, all in his first real action on the college stage. Perets had just two appearances in 2020-21–though he did stop all 12 shots he faced.
Some may have looked at those numbers and wondered whether the young netminder would leave the collegiate scene after such an outstanding season, but he’ll be heading back according to the Quinnipiac Chronicle. That’s great news for the program, but also for Perets, who despite his success still certainly has work to do if he’s to become a legitimate NHL prospect.
The plan for 2020-21 was to go back to the BCHL, where he had dominated the year prior, but given the COVID restrictions that ultimately canceled the season, he ended up joining the Quinnipiac program late in the year. Since they already had Keith Petruzzelli there as a Hobey Baker-candidate starter, there wasn’t much action for any other netminder. In fact, Perets’ 32 minutes of gameplay was actually second for all Quinnipiac goaltenders–Petruzzelli logged 1,716.
It wasn’t quite that lopsided this year, with Dylan St. Cyr receiving a handful of starts, but make no mistake the Quinnipiac net belongs to Perets. In fact, he put up his own Hobey Baker-level season, ending as a Top Ten finalist last month. If 2022-23 brings more of the same success, you can bet NHL teams will certainly be picking up the phone next spring. Whether he decides to turn pro at that point remains to be seen, but his name will certainly be on the minds of many watching the undrafted college free agent ranks.