Prospect Igor Shestyorkin has a bright future with the New York Rangers, but first, he has a chance to show off his talents on the big international stage via the Olympics.
New York Rangers top goaltending prospect Igor Shestyorkin has been invited to play for Team Russia in the 2018 Olympics.
An official statement has been released from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation following the IOC inviting players to the 2018 Olympic Games. Link: https://t.co/8BhuMxwi69 pic.twitter.com/DsQF0RG3Ak
— Russia Hockey (@russiahockey_en) January 23, 2018
The Rangers drafted Shestyorkin in the fourth round during the 2014 NHL Entry draft. He currently is playing in Russia with the KHL where he is putting up ridiculous numbers.
During the 2016-2017 the 22-year-old goaltender finished the season with a 1.64 goals-against-average and a .937 save percentage. That success has carried over for Shestyorkin who has a goals-against-average of 1.77 and a save percentage of .930.
This won’t be the first time that Shestyorkin will be seeing action on the national stage. He was a part of two medal-winning teams during the World Juniors Championship in the 2014-2015 and 2016-2017 seasons.
The national exposure is nothing but good Shestyorkin who seems to be handling the pressure of playing for a top team in the SKA St. Petersburg.
Igor Shestyorkin (#NYR) makes the glove stop on Alexei Sopin. pic.twitter.com/wXVfNMJwO4
— Alex Nunn (@aj_ranger) January 22, 2018
Plays like the one above are why you sometimes hear comparisons of Shestyorkin to Henrik Lundqvist. Like Lundqvist, Shestyorkin relies on his reflexes and athleticism to make up for what he lacks in other aspects of his game.
We all know not to get overly excited when it comes to prospects, but it feels different with Shestyorkin. The highlight packages of him bring hope that life after Lundqvist won’t be a dark one. He remains under contract in the KHL until after the 2018-2019 season giving him more time to develop.
The numbers he is putting up are startling and these are without working with Rangers goaltending coach Benoit Allaire. Allaire is regarded as one of the best goaltending coaches in all of hockey. He is responsible for turning Cam Talbot and Antti Raanta into legitimate starters as well as keeping Lundqvist on top of his game night in and night out. Imagine Shestyorkin after working with Allaire?
Igor Shestyorkin (#NYR) w/ the point-blank stop on Oleg Li after Yegor Rykov had coughed puck up behind net. At some point I'll start taking his athleticism for granted. pic.twitter.com/tLQWIm4wcm
— Alex Nunn (@aj_ranger) January 20, 2018
Fans have every right to be excited about the young goaltender. He is the future and with Lundqvist at the age of 35, it might not be too long before he is playing in the NHL.
Until then enjoy watching him on the Olympic stage.
