Film Room: Dmitri Borichev's physical gifts could make him an elite NHL goaltender
Since 2016, just seven goalies have been picked in the first round of the NHL Draft. But since 2021, that number has shrunk to only two.
Knowing this, the mere fact that Dmitri Borichev has topped our goalie draft rankings in January and April should indicate the incredible talent that he is.
As the NHL has been dominated by Russian goalies such as Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Sergei Bobrovsky, NHL teams have been fixated on drafting freakishly athletic goalies from Russia and the MHL in hopes of replicating their success.
The most recent attempt at this was last year, when the lightning-quick 6-foot-2 Pyotr Andreyanov was picked 20th overall, potentially paving the way for Borichev, a similar goalie, to go early.
Typically, drafting a goalie in the first round or even top 40 out of a relatively weaker league — Borichev plays primarily in the weak MHL silver division — who has only played 24 regular-season games this year would be heresy. But Russia's goalie pipeline is unquestionably one of the best, if not the best, at developing high-end NHL products.
In fact, one of the best young goalies in the game, Sergei Murashov, came out of the Loko system and was drafted from Loko-76, the same team that Borichev currently plays for. Given the strong professional developmental system built into Russia, and the fact that Borichev’s program has produced a recent NHL talent, there is added incentive for NHL teams to draft Borichev early, despite his being inexperienced.
While Borichev hasn’t been allowed to showcase his talents as much as maybe some other notable draft eligibles in this class, the physical talents and the flashes of a potential, more well-rounded game are enough to warrant consideration as the top goalie to go off the board, floating on the fringes of the first round.
The physical tools
To say that Borichev has “special” physical prowess would be an understatement. The name of the Russian goaltending game is speed and athleticism, and Borichev stands as one of the pinnacles in that regard in this draft class.
Most goalies take at least five years to develop into NHLers, making the skill gap between a draft-year goalie and a full-fledged NHLer immense. Yet, Borichev could genuinely skate circles around the majority of NHL goalies. He can access his edges, thanks to incredible ankle mobility, in stretched and extended positions that most goalies can’t even get into, let alone move in. The ability to grab an edge with near-100% power is an unbelievable advantage, especially down low, where Borichev shines. He hardly has to lift his knee to get an edge while in the butterfly. What this means is that he can snap his leg back down after pushing much quicker than most, allowing him to seal that butterfly cleanly.
These edges show up on changes of direction, too. Borichev is one guy you can never count out of a tic-tac-toe play because he can stop on a dime, in a fully extended position, and get back the other way like he was already there. One of the primary ways to score in the NHL is moving the puck back and forth laterally, and when a goalie can always be able to fight for a decent position, it helps make them one of the best there is.
Edge access isn’t the only aspect of skating. There is precision of movement and quickness, both of which Borichev excels in. When Borichev is at his best, he’s making plenty of micro adjustments, keeping his body centred on the puck, and managing depth by taking good routes through the crease. But what’s important is that he doesn’t overshoot his target. He’s able to get to wherever he needs to go perfectly. No extra noise.
It creates the potential for a hyper-efficient playstyle, akin to Trey Augustine's. Augustine is a secretly hyper-athletic goalie, yet you would rarely know it. He hardly has to use it in grandiose ways, all thanks to his phenomenal edgework, which makes for a much calmer, easier game. Borichev possesses many of the same qualities as Augustine and is physically similar, offering a glimpse of what Borichev could look like with some North American-style development.
As for the athletic skills, Borichev also has talent in droves. He can explode with unreal power, enabling him to consistently stop backdoor threats. But he can also explode out of any position. Borichev’s mobility in his hips and core strength allow him to be upright while pushing and extending, which does two things. For one, he can remain bigger in the net and cover the top half much better, but it also keeps his body prepared to be able to generate power for a follow-up push or allow his hands to be usable for high saves. Generally, athleticism is viewed as the ability to get into the splits, which many can do just fine, but in doing so, many have to “sell out” and throw their chests to the ice, exposing themselves completely to changes of direction, rebounds, or even up high. The fact that Borichev rarely has to sell out, if at all, really separates him from the pack.
Borichev can also internally rotate his hips more than is considered normal, enabling him to flare his butterfly very wide and giving him the aforementioned advantage down low. For instance, Borichev can sit on the goal line with both skates touching both posts, yet his five-hole is practically covered, and the ice sealed. All he has to do is shift his weight, and he can integrate into either post.
His physical gifts are the anchors for his upside, which remains sky-high. However, what has made Borichev into that first-round calibre prospect is the addition of an impressive technical base to that athletic base.
The good flashes
If physical skills were all that it took to be successful as an NHL goalie, Borichev would be in the NHL by next year. However, this is not the case, as stiffer goalies such as Connor Hellebuyck have proven just how invaluable refined technique, great positioning, smart decisions, and effective tracking and play reading are to actual goaltending.
With a strong emphasis on the physical aspects of the game, Russian goalies typically struggle with the more technical or cognitive aspects of the position. Borichev, thankfully, has shown flashes of potentially being strong in this facet.
Particularly in the first half of the season, many viewings of Borichev by most of our goalie room left the impression that he is a highly technical and smart goalie. Borichev has shown to sport a well-crafted stance, teetering on the edge of being low, but good nonetheless. His hand discipline can be excellent. He keeps his hands well-projected and active, with his glove hand especially quick and precise. His save cycle is smooth and effortless, and Borichev can maintain impeccable control over his limbs, which maximizes his reach in the net and facilitates efficient, precise movement.
Furthermore, Borichev flashed strong play-reading capabilities, boasting excellent puck attachment, quick reactions, and anticipation, as he scanned effectively, adjusted his position, and took efficient routes through the crease.
These aspects are why Borichev has been the No. 1 goaltender on our board throughout the season, as well as a first-round talent. However, as the season has gone on, we as a group have grown less and less confident in that evaluation.
Concerning flashes
The breakdown of Borichev's above makes him seem like the perfect goalie. However, the issue is that he employs proper technique and cognition far too infrequently. In fact, as the season has gone along, Borichev has been trending downwards in these areas.
Borichev’s normal set stance – once considered a strength – has devolved to be far too wide and low. He locks his legs so much that it has now ironically limited his lateral mobility, an area in which he should be dominating. This has also spilt over into his anticipation, as the limited lateral mobility in his stance incentivizes him to free himself, which he can do most quickly by getting down in the butterfly. He is impatient, going down too early or opting for a slide rather than getting to his feet. This limits his ability to change his direction and exposes him to high shots. His blocker hand has also been severely limiting his game, as a good majority of his goals against have come to the blocker side, even through clean looks from distance.
Borichev’s positioning has also devolved into a default of outrageously aggressive behaviour. Early in the season, He was much better at adjusting his depth when appropriate, given active passing options. But since January, he has been adjusting far less and taking even more frequent hyper-aggressive positioning, even when there are clear, open, dangerous passing options, which has led to a propensity to get beaten off passes. His angling has also been worse, accentuated by the aggressiveness, where he can get beaten cleanly far too easily, as he is simply out of position.
His anticipation also feels slowed in the second half of the year. His reactions are slower, he isn’t scanning as much, and sometimes it feels like he moves without a set plan. It causes breaks in his technique; he will slide when he shouldn’t, lose his limbs in motion, or just open holes. He also seems to completely stop processing or not see the puck, and allows goals that should never be allowed. It’s all the things that he has shown that he can do well, but if he continues on this path, his transition to the NHL will be severely limited, as goalies can’t get away with playing this way in the NHL.
Projection
When examining Borichev, the theoretical potential is off the charts. His physical talents alone make him one of the more tantalizing prospects out there. When he has played with everything put together, the proper reads, good positioning, controlled technique, combined with the physical talents, he looks like the complete package and a potential high-end NHL starter. But with Borichev seemingly regressing throughout the year and showing that the non-physical aspects of his game are far more inconsistent than originally realized, there is much more risk in his projection and legitimate concerns about drafting him in the first round.
Even though some technical aspects and positioning may be more easily malleable than skating and athleticism, Borichev's inconsistency in these aspects is a valid concern. Another similar goalie, Ilya Nabokov, showed many strong technical and cognitive flashes when he was drafted, but also some inconsistencies, including disregard for efficiency and overreliance on his physical talents. Since being drafted, Nabokov has trended toward this overreliance, as shown in his performance, dropping from .930 SV% in 2024 to .901 in 2026 in the KHL.
If Borichev can learn to trust his technical and cognitive foundation, which he has shown can genuinely be at a high level, he will become a highly effective NHL goalie. But if he sticks to the trend that he is on, we may only see Borichev become an elite KHL goalie. In any case, the immense potential that he brings and the thought of what he could be if he manages to put it all together is enough to warrant a second-round pick. He remains a gamble as a first-rounder, but in a draft class with weak depth in terms of skaters, a team may be willing to take a home run swing.
