SKA Ice Hockey Club

Fantasy Summary

Shesterkin is an interesting prospect. He has dominated every junior/minor level. In drafting Shesterkin, the Rangers may have landed a goaltending steal at the draft.


Observations

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September 2020 – With the buyout of Hendrik Lundqvist being reported as imminent, Igor Shestyorkin, who finished his rookie season with the New York Rangers as the teams’ impromptu starter, will assume the role on a permanent basis. With Alexander Georgiev serving as his competent backup, Shestyorkin should be expected to play around 50 games for the Blueshirts if he stays healthy. With the retooled roster on the sharp slope up to their former glory, the Russian netminder, and likely Alexis Lafreniere will embody the next generation of New York Rangers. Brayden Olafson
December 2019 – Shestyorkin has been dynamite as an AHL rookie. The recently turned 24-year-old sits top-five in all the major metrics and is looks more than ready for an NHL shot. He’s been superb at every level and appears destined to grow around the exciting young core in New York.  Cam Robinson
April 2019 – The Rangers’ have agreed to terms for an ELC with Igor Shestyorkin along with fellow Russian top prospect Vitali Kravtsov. Both will make their way to North America for the teams prospect camp in the summer. Agreeing to terms in North America boosts Shestyorkin’s NHL certainty score as well. He’ll likely earn the starting position for the Hartford Wolfpack to kick off the 2019-20, while Lundqvist and Georgiev hold down the fort in Manhattan. If his fall months are a success, there is a good chance that the Russian netminder sees an NHL crease by season-end. Brayden Olafson
March 2019 – Shesterkin continues to absolutely dominate the European and Russian circuit as a 23-year-old. Surely Ranger fans are growing impatient for his arrival to North America, however, Hendrik Lundqvist does not appear eager to give up his throne. Alex Georgiev is primed to hold the fort down in the meantime, but Shesterkin should put up a fight once it’s apparent that Hank’s retirement is imminent. The sooner he comes over, the better. Brayden Olafson
June 2018 – The heir apparent to Hendrik Lundqvist’s throne in the Big Apple has continued to dominate the KHL, albeit as the backstop for one of the league’s most overwhelmingly stacked teams. Shesterkin is said to be under contract with SKA St. Petersburg until the conclusion of the 2018-19 campaign at which time you can be certain that the Rangers would make a play to bring him to North America. There have also been rumors of a buyout clause in the 22-year-old’s contract, though it’s not certain the Rangers would attempt to exercise it while the team takes their first step into a transitional period. As MSG analyst and former NHL goaltender Steve Valiquette notes, the KHL is a different animal in terms of goaltending, “they play a different brand of hockey, very east to west… he’s not required to cover rebounds the same way.” In Shesterkin’s defense of the topic, Ranger’s European scout, Nickolai Bobrov has made the comment that the young star “Is mature beyond his years and is a proven big game player. His best attributes are his ability to read the play, stay composed, and control rebounds.” We’ll likely find out within the next two years whether or not the change of style will have an effect on the Russian’s trajectory – if not, we could very well be looking squarely at the Rangers next franchise netminder. Brayden Olafson

July 2017 — Shestyorkin had a lights out 2017-18 season in the KHL where he posted a 1.64 GAA and 0.937 save % for SKA St Petersburg, while also winning the Gagarin Cup during his first full pro season.  Shestyorkin doesn’t fit the mould of the modern goalie at 6’1” however he relies on his extraordinary reflexes and skill set similar to New York’s Mr. Lundquist.  Contractually Shestyorkin is locked up by SKA through 2018-19 so unless the Rangers exercise a buyout don’t expect to see him in North America in the near future.  Geoff Kent

 

November 2016 – The twenty year old made the jump to full time duties in the KHL and has been nothing short of fantastic through the first half of the season. After winning the starting role over Mikko Koskinen, Igor has recorded 19 wins and posted a 0.942 save percentage and 1.51 GAA in 26 starts for SKA St Petersburg. He also leads the KHL with 8 shutouts. It will be interesting to see if the young tender can sustain such stellar numbers through the second half of his first pro campaign in Russia’s top league. Geoff Kent

 

September 2016 – Fantasy owners and New York Rangers fans alike were disappointed upon learning that top goaltending prospect, Igor Shesterkin, had inked a three-year extension with KHL club SKA on September 1st. With the KHL and NHL being at odds, it’s unlikely that Shesterkin will find a way to get to North America (if he even wants to) before his extension runs out in 2020. Keeper owners should be on alert to see how this situation develops. Dylan Finan

 

March 2015 – The Russian Netminder continuously to impress the hockey world with his talent. He has had an excellent post-draft season. Shesterkin stole the number one job from Ilya Sorokin at the World Junior Championships and played a key role in helping Team Russia advance to the gold medal game. He started five games and earned three wins, one of them included a shutout. Shesterkin only played in six KHL games this season, which is not a surprise, because his SKA team is top notch club in KHL and they prefer to play veterans over youngsters. He is very sound technically, extremely athletic and very calm under pressure for his age. He moves well in his crease and has a very quick glove hand. Shesterkin has a contract with the SKA until 2016. The next step is for him to secure a job in the KHL, which will be a tough task because of how competitive they are with a goaltending rival in Mikko Koskinen. Jozsef Kurtosi

 

November 2014 – New York Rangers took Shesterkin (or Shestyorkin) with their own fourth round pick last year’s draft. The Moscow native goalie really turned heads two years ago with a dominant IIHF under-18 tournament performance for Russia as an underage player. He is a very talented young goalie with some KHL experience from last season. This year his team (SKA) constantly shifting him between the KHL, VHL (second tier Russian league) and MHL (top level Russian junior league) to give him much needed playing time. Played for Team Russia in the 2014 Subway Super Series, where he picked up two wins in his first two starts, including a shutout versus Team OHL. He has a very good chance to backing up Ilya Sorokin this year at the U20 WJC in Canada. Shesterkin is a confident and charismatic goalie with some phenomenal reflexes. Best style comparison for him is Semyon Varlamov. Altough he needs plenty of work on his technique, but his focus and concentration are outstanding. Jozsef Kurtosi

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 9.5
NHL Certainty 9.5
Country RUS
Position G
Roster Type Junior
Shoot/Glove Left
Date of Birth December 30, 1995
Height 6‘1”
Weight 183 lbs
Drafted 2014 Round 4; Overall: 118

Stats

 Season Team League GP GAA SVS%      Playoffs GP GAA SVS%
 2012-2013 Spartak MoskvaKHL0 - -|      
  Spartak MoskvaNadezhda Cup1 1.25 .947|      
  MHK Spartak MoskvaMHL15 2.10 .920|Playoffs9 1.59 .948
  Russia U18WJC-186 2.26 .937|      
  Russia U18Hlinka Gretzky Cup1 5.00 .821|      
  Russia U18 |WJAC-19|WJAC-193 2.98 .897|      
 2013-2014 Spartak MoskvaKHL9 2.80 .903|      
  MHK Spartak MoskvaMHL23 1.42 .947|Playoffs19 1.75 .937
  Russian Selects U20Jr Super Series2 4.01 .904|      
 2014-2015 SKA St. PetersburgKHL6 2.33 .917|      
  SKA-Neva St. PetersburgVHL8 1.72 .943|      
  SKA-1946 St. PetersburgMHL3 2.26 .934|Playoffs13 2.47 .910
  Russian Selects U20Jr Super Series5 1.58 .949|      
  Russia U20WJC-205 1.98 .938|      
  Russia U20 (all)International-Jr12 1.61 .945|      
 2015-2016 SKA St. PetersburgKHL7 2.58 .912|Playoffs0 - -
  SKA-Neva St. PetersburgVHL25 1.19 .954|      
  SKA-1946 St. PetersburgMHL2 1.51 .946|      
  RussiaWC0 - -|      
  Russia (all)International0 - -|      
 2016-2017 SKA St. PetersburgKHL39 1.64 .937|Playoffs5 1.84 .940
  RussiaEHT4 - -|      
  RussiaWC0 - -|      
  Russia (all)International4 - -|      
 2017-2018 SKA St. PetersburgKHL28 1.70 .933|Playoffs1 0.00 1.000
  RussiaEHT5 2.19 .906|      
  Russia OG0 - -|      
  RussiaWC4 1.46 .942|      
  Russia (all)International9 1.90 .921|      
  Russia II (all)International2 0.00 1.000|      
 2018-2019 SKA St. PetersburgKHL28 1.11 .953|Playoffs10 1.95 .904
  RussiaEHT3 0.50 .982|      
  Russia (all)International3 - -|      
 2019-2020 New York RangersNHL12 2.52 .932|Playoffs1 3.10 .900
  Hartford Wolf PackAHL25 1.90 .934|      
 2020-2021 New York RangersNHL35 2.62 .916|      
 2021-2022 New York RangersNHL53 2.07 .935|Playoffs20 2.59 .929
 2022-2023 New York RangersNHL58 2.48 .916|Playoffs7 1.96 .931
 2023-2024 New York RangersNHL55 2.58 .913|Playoffs16 2.34 .927
 2024-2025 New York RangersNHL18 3.05 .908|      

Highlights