Artur Akhtyamov

January 2021 – As expected, Akhtyamov didn’t see much action for Team Russia at the 2021 WJC tournament. Still, he allowed just 1 goal against in his single game played (against Austria) and there was no chance of Askarov losing the crease so its hard to have anything bad to say about the experience. Hayden Soboleski

December 2020 – Akhtyamov has been named to Team Russia’s preliminary WJC roster. He is unlikely to see any action behind superstar Askarov but this is still a nice reward for the young goalie who has shown well in the KHL, VHL, and MHL so far in 2020-21. He needs to become a more technical student and rely less on his reactionary athleticism, but saves are saves. Hayden Soboleski

October 2020 – The Maple Leafs have drafted Akhtyamov in the 4th round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The soon-to-be 19-year-old was left off many scouting reports but was a player of interest for those that included him. With the prerequisite size for a goalie, he put up outstanding numbers in the MHL and has strated strong playing games for Kazan of both the MHL and VHL so far in 2020-21.  His agent represents a number of Maple Leafs players and prospects so its safe to say the Leafs have more intel than the average scout at this point in time. Like all goalies, consider him a long-term investment until he sees starts in the KHL – trying to anticipate goalie progression is a surefire way to make a fool of yourself. Hayden Soboleski