Avalanche claim goaltender Ivan Prosvetov from Coyotes
Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images
24-year-old Russian netminder Prosvetov has the frame and pedigree to become a valuable asset. With Pavel Francouz on the shelf for the immediate future, the Colorado Avalanche were in a tough spot with unproven Justus Annunen penciled in as the backup goalie. Rather than claim an established veteran to bolster the position, however, Colorado took a swing on another unproven young player in now-former Arizona Coyote Ivan Prosvetov.
At 6-foot-5, Prosvetov boasts the large frame and quick feet that have become a staple of goalie coach Jussi Parkilla’s favorite projects - from Reto Berra to Jonas Johansson. Parkilla has a type. Annunen is a promising goalie, but he doesn’t have the size or quickness that Parkilla seems to covet.
That said, he also doesn’t have much track record. Prosvetov has played 13 NHL games over the last three seasons since his debut in 2020, and never posted a save percentage over .880. That is not good.
Alright, that was impressive. Cc: Ivan Prosvetov pic.twitter.com/To4vyXYMkT— NHL (@NHL) March 10, 2023
At the AHL level as a rookie in 2019-20 Prosvetov managed a .909, but then dipped under .900 every year since then. Arizona and AHL affiliate Tucson have never built strong rosters in front of him, but from just a numbers perspective there isn’t much evidence that Prosvetov can be an upgrade on Annunen.
But Parkilla is a man to be trusted, and big athletic Russian goalies have dominated the NHL in recent years. Berra and Johansson may not be names Avs fans love to hear as comparables but don’t forget Parkilla also untapped the potential in Philipp Grubauer and Alexandar Georgiev.
Another important fact about Ivan Prosvetov is that he can do cartwheels on the ice. pic.twitter.com/h2fy0WMCVG— Meghan Angley (@megangley) October 9, 2023
Prosvetov is a lottery ticket, and while a losing draw could mean a couple of rough games in the first few weeks of the season, a winning number could mean a cheap goalie of the future.
Annunen has been sent down to Loveland. He is waiver-exempt.
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