Pittsburgh Penguins’ goalie prospect Sergei Murashov is making the most of his first season playing in North America, as he recently set a franchise record for the AHL-affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by winning his 10th game in a row, per a team release.
Pittsburgh’s fourth round selection in the 2022 draft, Murashov spent 26 games in the ECHL to begin the season before getting called up to the AHL. In 11 games for the Baby Pens, he has a 10-0-0 record to pair with his .916 save percentage. The 20-year-old from Yaroslavl, Russia also posted a 13-game win streak with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers from Nov. 6 to Jan. 8, which set the longest streak in their history as well.
While Murashov still has room to grow, his statistics and results this season show that he’s at least knocking on the door of the NHL. His development adds an extra element to Pittsburgh’s goaltending situation moving forward, which includes the shaky play of former all-star Tristan Jarry, the up-and-down contributions of backup Alex Nedeljkovic, and the continued development of fellow prospect Joel Blomqvist.
The most polarizing of these names is of course Jarry, who has struggled mightily since signing a five-year, $26,875,000 contract in July 2023. The 29-year-old, two-time all-star, has recorded a .894 save percentage this season, and found himself demoted to the AHL in an effort to rediscover his once promising game. His play of late has significantly improved – corresponding with the team’s surge in play – and has recorded a .928 save percentage over his last five games.
Due to Jarry’s mid-season demotion, Nedeljkovic has played the most games in Pittsburgh this season (33 starts) but has also struggled compared to previous success. Just last season, “Ned” played in 33 games for the Pens and recorded an 18-7-7 record to go along with a .902 save percentage. That was good enough to secure a two-year, $5MM contract to stay in Pittsburgh. But despite his usual standing as a trustworthy NHL-level backup, Nedeljkovic has recorded just a .893 save percentage on the season.
Blomqvist, Pittsburgh’s second round selection in the 2020 draft, has struggled in 15 games in the NHL this season, recording an .885 save percentage and a 4-9-1 record. However, in 15 games at the AHL-level, the 23-year-old has registered a strong .915 save percentage.
While there appears to be a bit of a log jam between the pipes in Pittsburgh, none of the goalies ahead of Murashov on the organization’s depth chart has done themselves any favors – even when factoring in the poor defensive play of Pittsburgh’s blueliners this season. General manager Kyle Dubas will have key decisions to make if he intends to clear a path for Murashov moving forward.
Well, gee, it’s too bad that the Pens don’t really have an enormous, staggering need for a halfway decent goaltender, isn’t it???
Lundqvist was a 7th. Sheshterkin was a 3rd.
NYR will have 3 or 4 DECADES of elite netminding by taking random chances in the draft.
Teams (actually just the Pens, that would be better) should draft twice as many goalies they do and hope to find gold.
We have 30 picks the next 3 drafts, 5 of them should be goalies.
Goalies are notoriously hard to predict, it really is a crapshoot. You’ve had many Rick DiPietros, drafted way higher than their impact ever could have delivered… Then you have your Mika Kiprusoffs, drafted in the late rounds and dominant through their careers.
Hell, I bet there are many, many elite goaltenders that were never drafted and developed. Tim Thomas is living proof of that; only got a chance after like 4 people ahead of him in the depth chart fell to injury, wound up being elite and completely unconventional. How many goalies retired after junior that could have been the next Hasek?
Yep. And then add to all of that the part where you have guys like Matt Murray or Jim Carrey who burst onto the scene only to flame out. And then add to all of that guys like Jordan Binnington or Adin Hill, who go from journeymen to stars.
Long story short…goalies are erratic…make sure you have a bunch of them.
Aiden Hill is a 28 year old goalie who has been a fine 1b for 3 years now. So since he was 25. The average goalie hits their stride around 26-27. Binnington caught fire his age 25 season and helped the Blues to the cup that season. Neither were journeymen. And many Blues fans were calling for Binnington to be traded the past 2 seasons, until the 4 nations cup really. He’s 31 now. If he was just coming into his own now, Sure maybe a journeyman. But he is what he is at this point.
Dustin Wolf is 23 and getting his first season of NHL play. Askarov is 22 and barely getting time. Goalies start later. Not everyone is Fluery and starting at 18-19.
The problem has not been the guy in net for the Pens. It has been getting the forwards and defensemen to play 60 minutes in front of who has been the net. They usually only play 40 minutes abd take off 20. they lose games in that 20.
Actually it’s been 40 minutes in the middle. The amount of times they’ve allowed a first shot goal is staggering. Credit to the organization for playing much better hockey recently. Just don’t have the talent overall.