Midway through the Boston series, I got some very good news. The news of course was that the Flyers had signed Russian goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.
Since I assume most people reading this won’t know much about him, you can consider him the KHL’s version of Vokoun. He has been languishing on one of the worst KHL teams (it was an RSL team his first year) for three seasons.
Bobrovsky’s Metallurg Novokuznetsk finished in last place in goal scoring with 105 total goals in 56 games (1.88) but, thanks to the efforts of their goalie, finished 13th out of 24 teams in goals against with only 159 (2.83 GA/G). Once again his just plain bad team had a little bit of a bright side thanks to their now 21-year-old netminder, who had seen the team through three terrible years back to when they were a part of the RSL before the KHL was even created. To give you a hint, the team didn’t do much better than last place in any of the seasons.
Those disappointing years of course couldn’t be pinned on their star; the one the Flyers happened to steal last week.
In this past season on the worst team in the KHL, Bobrovsky put up a 2.72 GAA and a 0.919 SV% in 35 games played despite a frustrating 9 wins. In 2008-09, he had an even better 2.49 GAA and a 0.927 SV% in 32 games but, thanks in large part to his team, managed only 7 wins. He also played another 32 games over the course of two seasons in the RSL as a teenager accounting for a 2.85 GAA and a 0.901 SV% in the grown-up league.
He definitely has talent despite his team, and his biggest goal was to make it to the NHL.
That should not be too hard for a kid who plays a similar style to the Capitals’ Semyon Varlamov and is often noted to be competing with him for the position of top young Russian goalkeeper.
Oh yeah. Did I mention he’s Russian? A Russian… Goalie on the Flyers. Not only are we not known to have any Russians, but since when are we known to have goalies?
Well the Russian thing may be changing with Bobrovsky and defenseman Denis Bodrov in the mix. There are also rumors the Flyers are finally going to manage to get break-out forward Andrei Popov to journey to North America while the KHL battles their own nearly league-wide financial crisis.
The goalie thing may be changing as well. Joacim Eriksson has signed an SEL contract but still holds out hope that the Flyers might give him a shot in the organization this year. If you couldn’t tell by the Philadelphia hoodie he is often seen sporting over in Sweden, he’s just a little excited to make the trip. He likely won’t be in Adirondack next season with Bobrovsky hold the position, but he’s definitely in the Flyers’ long-term plans.
On top of that, goaltending prospects Nicola Riopel of the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL and Jacob DeSerres of the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL will be competing in the upcoming weeks for a shot at the Memorial Cup, a junior hockey tournament that puts the three CHL champions against a team that is hosting for the title of CHL champion. Mike Richards won one of those back in the day. Claude Giroux came close. It’s kind of a big deal. Also in the mix is Eric Wellwood, surprise break-out forward for the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL. It should be a good chance to get a reading on some of our prospects that will be in the AHL next season.
So things are definitely looking up for the Flyers, and Bobrovsky is going to get his shot. He has all the talent in the world. Here’s the breakdown on our two promising goalie prospects:
Sergei Bobrovsky
Age: 21
Born: 9-20-88
Height: 6’2
Weight: 190
Contract: NHL
Athleticism: Above Average
Glove: Solid
Reflexes: Elite
Rebound Control: Average
Composure: Elite
Positioning: Above Average
Age: 19 – 2007-08 Metallurg Novokuznetsk (RSL): 24 GP – 2.91 GAA – 0.901 SV%
Age: 20 – 2008-09 Metallurg Novokuznetsk (KHL): 32 GP – 2.49 GAA – 0.927 SV%
Age: 21 – 2009-10 Metallurg Novokuznetsk (KHL): 35 GP – 2.72 GAA – 0.919 SV%
Age: 22 – 2010-11 Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL)
Joacim Eriksson
Age: 20
Born: 4-9-90
Height: 6’2
Weight: 187
Contract: SEL
Athleticism: Above Average
Glove: Solid
Reflexes: Above Average
Rebound Control: Solid
Composure: Elite
Positioning: Elite
Age: 17 – 2007-08 Brynas (SWE-J20): 16 GP – 3.31 GAA – 0.875 SV%
Age: 18 – 2008-09 Brynas (SWE-J20): 33 GP – 1.99 GAA – 0.930 SV%
Age: 19 – 2009-10 Leksand (Allsvenskan): 38 GP – 2.40 GAA – 0.926 SV%
Age: 20 – 2010-11 Skelleftea (SEL)
Since there are no YouTube videos of him, here are a few Sergei Bobrovsky saves for those who would like to see him in action:
