The Hurricanes have brought up some extra goaltending depth with their postseason set to get underway on Sunday. The team announced that they’ve recalled Ruslan Khazheyev from AHL Chicago. He’ll serve as Carolina’s third-string option for the time being.
The 20-year-old is in his first season in North America after signing his entry-level deal last year. Khazheyev was a fifth-round pick by the Hurricanes back in 2023, going 158th overall after a solid showing with Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk of the MHL. He spent last season with them as well before crossing the pond this year.
Khazheyev played in 20 games with the Wolves this season, posting a 3.49 GAA and a .876 SV%. He also made one appearance with ECHL Bloomington, allowing three goals on 15 shots.
Should one of Pyotr Kochetkov or Frederik Andersen go down due to injury, it’s unlikely that Khazheyev would be pressed into action. Instead, they’d likely promote one of Spencer Martin or Dustin Tokarski to serve as the backup, a role both had filled at times during the regular season. For now, those two will remain as the tandem in Chicago heading into the AHL playoffs that begin next week.
Martin was so bad this year