A fourth round pick by the Leafs in the 2020 draft, Artur Akhtyamov was deemed to be more of a long-term project by many scouts. The 21-year-old may not be as long of a project as many had originally expected though as he has taken the KHL by storm in the early stages of this season.
Thanks to injuries, his KHL team, Kazan, had to recall him after initially sending him down to the VHL. Since being recalled, the former fourth round pick has been on fire, going 6-3 with a sparkling .937 save percentage, which, according to reports, would be 6th best in the league currently. He picked up his sixth win of the season early this morning, stopping 29 of 31 shots, including this beauty.
As a team that went years without having any genuine goaltending prospects in their system, the Leafs now have Akhtyamov, Vyacheslav Peksa, Dennis Hilldeby and Keith Petruzzelli on the way, with Joseph Woll already arriving on the NHL scene.
Akhtyamov may very well have vaulted himself ahead of everyone not named Woll at this point, due to his stellar play so far this season and could very well make the jump to North America when his KHL season concludes to join the Marlies for their post-season run, depending on what the goaltending situation with the Marlies looks like in the spring.
