FLAMES RETOOL TRACKER: Does Kirill Zarubin have a future in Calgary's crease?

Yahoo

a day ago

If the Calgary Flames had waited any longer, they weren't going to get their guy.
That was the feedback that Jordan Sigalet, the Flames director of goaltending, received from his counterparts around the league after selecting Russian netminder Kirill Zarubin with the No. 84 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
'You get the text messages right after — 'Screw you, we were taking him next!'' Sigalet said with a chuckle. 'So then you feel kind of relieved.
'There were a lot of people that were hoping he was going to slip to the fourth round. I've heard a couple teams were going to take him with their next pick in the third round. So I think we got him at the right time.
'We think we have a really, really good goalie with a bright future ahead of him.'
And now comes the patience part.
It's worth noting that the Flames have not often drafted a twine-minder as early as the third round, especially not of late, so they clearly believe that Zarubin has major upside.
Many consider him to be Calgary's most promising puck-stopping prospect, a candidate to someday be Dustin Wolf's sidekick/understudy at Scotia Place, but even the most optimistic projections would put him a few years away.
Adding to the intrigue is that there's a measure of mystery with this 19-year-old masked man.
Flames fans have been scouring social media for highlight clips, but those can be hard to find.
While Zarubin is studying English, a sign he is serious about a sooner-than-later move to North America, he isn't ready for interview requests just yet.
With the current advisories against travel to Russia, Sigalet wasn't able to attend any of his games this winter with AKM Tula in the junior-level MHL, although he didn't miss a single start on the online stream. Since Zarubin will remain with the same organization for another season, it will be a similar setup in the coming months.
If he is able to secure a visitor visa, Zarubin hopes to attend development camp this summer. That would mark his first trip to Calgary and he'd likely be surprised by how many folks will show up to watch him practise with the other future pieces.
'His maturity, both physically and mentally, it's far beyond his age,' Sigalet said of Zarubin, who is 6-foot-3, roughly 200 pounds and turns 20 in September. 'He's big. He's smart. He's very, very patient. And he has mature details for a 19-year-old. He's very calm, very composed. But when he has to get uncomfortable, he can move. He can get to his spots.
'I talk to him every other day on WhatsApp and he's very accountable, too. If I write him about his game and tell him he had a good game, it's always, 'No, I could be better. I could have stopped one of those.'
'He played a little bit less this year, just because their 20-year-old, (Ilya) Kanarsky, was back. Kirill played more last year because that kid was hurt. But when he did play, he was outstanding and just got better as the season went on.'
That didn't go unnoticed.
As Zarubin was in the midst of posting a 12-9 record, 2.34 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in 21 appearances with AKM Tula, Sigalet's phone continued to buzz — not with curses from his counterparts but rather with reach-outs from recruiters wondering about his plans for the 2025-26 campaign.
While at least one powerhouse college program had Zarubin earmarked as a could-be starter, there were concerns that he would struggle with classes due to the language barrier.
The Youngstown Phantoms called his name in the USHL's draft this spring, but he has instead inked an extension at home. Flames fans should not view that as negative news, since Russia is the leading country for developing future crease stars. Some of the best puck-stoppers on the planet — guys like Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy — honed their skills for multiple seasons in the MHL.
Leonid Grishukevich, the goaltending coach for AKM Tula, had plenty of praise for Zarubin. In a text message conversation, he described him as an 'excellent student.'
Listing off some of his strengths, he mentioned he 'perfectly copes with emotions,' 'understands and reads the game well' and 'fights to the end in every moment.'
According to Grishukevich, who is originally from Belarus and spent one winter in the Alberta Junior Hockey League in the late-90s as the last-line-of-defence for the Olds Grizzlys, Zarubin likes to watch and study Mackenzie Blackwood of the Colorado Avalanche. As Grishukevich summarized: 'Kirill likes his tactics of the game, the use of his own size and the choice of positioning.'
David Phillips, the chief goaltending scout for FC Hockey, tracked Zarubin through his draft season. In more recent video viewings, he has noticed some significant strides.
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'When he was drafted by Calgary, I could see why they'd want a guy like him because of the raw talent and the size and the athleticism that he does have,' Phillips said. 'And then this year, I was very impressed with how much more refined he became.
'His footwork looks a lot better. His positioning was always quite good. And then he's done a good job of keeping his athleticism and contesting shots all over the ice with that athleticism by being able to just explode into a save.'
Could he eventually explode on scene as a factor for the Flames?
While some mystery remains, he's apparently motivated to do exactly that.
'It's his dream,' Sigalet said. 'He wants to come over here as soon as possible. He'd come today if we told him to come today. It just has to be the right situation.'
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