Maple Leafs goaltending prospect continues to dominate overseas
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending prospect Artur Akhtyamov continues to excel in the VHL for Neftyanik Almetievsk as he just posted his first shutout of the season, stopping 26 shots along the way.
The 2020 4th round pick is entering his 2nd season with Neftyanik Almetievsk after posting a gaudy 1.74 GAA and a .943 SV% last year in 38 games to go with a 20-12-6 record. He is currently 1-2-0 this year with a .933 SV% and a 2.02 GAA, picking up right where he left off.
The VHL - otherwise known as The Supreme Hockey League - is the second highest tier in the Russian hockey circuit, behind only the KHL. Akhtyamov has played in parts of 4 seasons in the VHL with incredible splits, where his lowest SV% in a season was .912 and his highest posted GAA was 2.69 - for some, those are career best numbers.
He technically belongs to Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL but they have Timur Bilyalov and Amir Miftakhov in goal, both of whom are KHL veterans. Fellow Maple Leafs goaltending prospect, Vyacheslav Peksa also belonged to Ak Bars Kazan but could make headway for the Toronto Marlies this season.
Akhtyamov is still only 21 years old and has plenty of experience in goal in the Russian circuit. If he continues to excel for Neftyanik Almetievsk, one would have to imagine he gets a crack at the KHL for Ak Bars Kazan or perhaps he gets loaned out to a lower-ranked KHL team for more playing time, akin to Matvei Michkov's recent loan to HC Sochi.
Akhtyamov is a hidden gem ready to be unearthed at the professional level and after some dominating seasons in the VHL, a call to the Marlies should be in the cards somewhere down the line.
