Goalies Stock Watch: Sergei Murashov catches pucks, NHL call-up to Pittsburgh

While European and junior leagues have been going on for up to a couple of months, the rest of the hockey circuit has caught up and have kicked off their 2025-26 regular season. 

For those late-start leagues like the AHL and ECHL, there's now enough of a sample size to start gauging early risers and fallers.

For the leagues that are well into their seasons already, it allows us to determine if early success or skids were just happenstance, or more definitive conclusions on players' developments.

Stock Rising 📈

Sergei Murashov, G, Pittsburgh Penguins

If NBC needs to make yet another spin-off or remake of a certain sitcom, they might need to give Sergei Murashov a call, because he’s been clocking overtime at the office in Scranton. Posting a 0.931 save percentage over his first seven games of the season, the 21-year-old netminder has been winning, and making it look easy.

A historically erratic goaltender when it came to positioning, Murashov has looked a lot more intentional with his movements and as a result he’s been thriving. Considering his already impressive recovery speed on second chances, strong rebound control, and playing on a team that’s allowing only a fifth lowest 2.65 expected goals against (according to Instat Hockey), it’s no secret why Murashov has ascended.

His early success has led to a call-up to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, it should be mentioned that this opportunity comes as Penguins starter Tristan Jarry and fellow prospect Joel Blomqvist are both out with injuries. When both of them return, Murashov will likely be sent back to the AHL again, and there his minutes will diminish. Furthermore, he still has some areas of his game to iron out, namely his angling, edges and being susceptible to back door tap ins.

That said, don’t be surprised if his strong play has raised his profile to become the Penguins' most prospective netminder.

Ryerson Leenders, G, Brantford Bulldogs (Buffalo Sabres) 

It’s clear that Ryerson Leenders has come into his 2025-26 campaign as a man on a mission. The Buffalo Sabres' seventh rounder in 2024 has gone undefeated in regulation through his first eight games, posting a .930 save percentage in the process. 

It cannot be understated that Brantford is a wagon; however, his steady play has been a major part of that process. It’s just infrequent that you’ll find him out of position, with pinpoint depth and angling. If there was one thing that he could improve upon to elevate his game even further, it would be to keep his hand engaged consistently. 

There’s no doubt that Leenders’ play should have Team Canada second-guessing his omission from the World Juniors showcase roster this past summer. In the meantime, however, it’s Ryer-szn in the OHL, and we’re all just along for the ride.

Drew Commesso, G, Rockford IceHogs (Chicago Blackhawks)

Since Drew Commesso had arrived to the AHL level, he's continued to rise steadily. In now his third professional season, it appears he's begun to take a jump, posting a 0.920 save percentage despite an otherwise middling 4-3-0 record. 

What has made Commesso so strong in the AHL is his ability to slow down play with his strong rebound control, stemming from a mixture of active hands and good positioning. His improvements in angling especially has been noticeable this season. Improved control has minimized scrambles in front, which he's struggled with in the past, and has mostly kept play to the perimeter.

Despite the improvements, he still seems to misread shots up high occasionally and still is vulnerable to play behind the net. It will likely take an injury to the Blackhawks' current tandem for Commesso to see NHL ice again, to really prove his worth to the organization as being able to provide immediate help. However, given the Blackhawks' situation, should backup Arvid Söderblom continue to struggle and Commesso continue to thrive, we could potentially see the former 2020 second rounder get a few games just to see what they've got in him at the NHL level this season.

Honourable Mentions: Sam Berthiaume (2028 NHL Draft), Ryder Fetterolf (2026 NHL Draft), Adam Gajan (Chicago Blackhawks), Christian Kirsch (San Jose Sharks), Raiden LeGall (2025 NHL Draft Re-entry), Quentin Miller (Montreal Canadiens),  Scott Ratzlaff (Buffalo Sabres), Melker Thelin (Utah Mammoth),  Eric Tu (2027 NHL Draft), Xavier Wendt (2026 NHL Draft)

Stock Steady ↔️ 

Lucas Beckman, G, Baie-Comeau Drakkar (Ottawa Senators)

Despite leading the QMJHL in shots faced as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar have fallen down to the league’s basement, Lucas Beckman has remained in top form to start his draft-plus-one season. The recent Ottawa Senators fourth rounder has put up a respectable 0.905 save percentage over a whopping 15 games, dressing in all but two games so far this season.

His steady play is surprising given his unwelcoming situation, according to Mitchell Brown’s 2024-25 tracked data, Beckman struggled in both high danger save percentage, as well with his rebound control. In both situations, he should be facing more shots.

His rebound control so far has remained roughly the same, with his blocker and pads being his most effective tools for redirecting pucks. However, his glove has remained an issue, as he’s struggled to swallow pucks with it consistently. His play in tight is where he’s made the most gains this season, thanks to improved composure in scrambles. If he can work on his rebounds in tight, Beckman could very well become a finalist or win QMJHL goaltender of the year despite the struggling team in front of him.

His statistical success is the result of his improvements in tight alongside continued progress in edgework, both of which will help lead him to an NHL future.

Stock Falling 📉 

Ilya Nabokov, G, Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Colorado Avalanche)

This season should’ve been Ilya Nabokov’s ‘last dance’ moment in the KHL. He had just signed his entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche and he was loaned back to Metallurg for one last season, before he likely replaces Scott Wedgewood once his contract expires in July. 

In some ways, Nabokov has been successful. His record so far this season is his most impressive in the KHL to date, going 8-2-0. However, individually, he’s been completely underwhelming, with a flat 0.900 save percentage over 13 games for 29th in the league.

His composure this season has been all over the place, from jumping into movements and erratically second guessing his movements which leads to his five hole opening up and moving off-angle, to lapses of anticipation as he just doesn’t read shots or the next pass coming as clearly.

Thankfully none of his physical attributes seem to be regressing; however, his mental funk has led to Magnitogorsk opting to relegate him to a tandem workload while the team is hot and he’s still figuring it out.

Mikhail Yegorov, G, Boston University (New Jersey Devils)

When Mikhail Yegorov was selected in the second round by the New Jersey Devils in 2024, it felt as though they were banking on his unrealized potential. His situation with the Omaha Lancers was just plainly awful, with the team only picking up 16 wins and allowing the second most goals against in the league, apart from the United States National Team Development Program. 

So when ‘Big Mike’ finally broke through, putting up a 0.912 save percentage the following season in Omaha, and continuing his stellar play after the mid-season move to Boston University, it finally seemed as if all the stars had aligned.

However, Yegorov has struggled to frame his hands effectively this season. Often, he poses them too far out and offers too much room underneath his arms. He can also overcompensate and frame himself too small. He has also struggled to catch with his glove, leading to rebounds landing directly in front of him, and issues keeping angled squarely to the shooter, especially in movement, which has allowed shooters to exploit his blocker side.

It’s still clear that Yegorov shows plenty of promise with his combination of size, mobility, anticipation and freakish athleticism. However, the slow start to his 2025-26 campaign may prove that he’s further away from the pros than originally anticipated.

Ruslan Khazheyev, G, Chicago Wolves (Carolina Hurricanes)

In his NHL draft year, Ruslan Khazheyev was the kind of goaltending prospect that a team drafts and stashes away, on the off-chance that they develop into becoming the next Ilya Sorokin or Igor Shestyorkin. He had an ideal 6-foot-4 frame, freakish athleticism, and great skating, which tends to result in absurd highlight reels. However, in terms of tracking, anticipation, general positioning, and his play around the posts, he was way below his peers. 

Turning 21 later this month, Khazheyev remains essentially the same goaltender he was when he was drafted. 

It can’t be understated that a lot of this falls on his situation. He shouldn’t have been signed by the Carolina Hurricanes for his 20-year-old season to back up in the AHL, when he had just one game of professional experience in the VHL to date. Furthermore, they likely should not have kept him in the AHL all season, instead it would’ve been in their best interest to have loaned him down to an ECHL team.

This season, he started with the Hurricanes’ new ECHL affiliate, the Greensboro Gargoyles. It has allowed him to get consistent minutes and play in league closer to his skill level. As a result, he was passed on the Hurricanes' depth chart by newly signed prospect Nikita Quapp (who struggled as a backup in the DEL last season). However, Khazheyev has once again found himself back in the AHL, as both of the Wolves' netminders have struggled out of the gate.

This is not to say Khazheyev’s glimpse of NHL potential is gone, as his athleticism remains standout. However, there just hasn’t been any meaningful improvement in reining in the reactionary tendencies, the bumper kart sliding tendencies, or the over-willingness to throw technique out the window and begin breakdancing for dear life.

Now on the second year of his entry-level deal, I would not be surprised that the stifled development will have Khazheyev second-guess re-signing with the Hurricanes. He’ll likely be targeted by KHL teams when his deal runs out in 2027-28.