Will Yegorov Be Devils’ “Black Ace” Up Their Sleeve In Playoffs?
NHL lore is rife with tales of late-season arrivals making major impacts on the Stanley Cup playoffs. I can go all the way back to Ken Dryden, who backstopped the Canadiens to the 1971 title after a March call-up, or Ken Morrow joining the Islanders for their Cup run in the aftermath of Team USA’s Miracle on Ice gold medal at the 1980 Olympics.
More recently and closer to my New Jersey home, Luke Hughes signed his Entry-Level contract with the Devils before the Zamboni finished its rounds following the University of Michigan’s loss at the 2023 Frozen Four. By the second round against Carolina, he was a mainstay on the Devils’ back line.
The Devils and Hurricanes will have a rematch when the playoffs get underway in eight days and it appears that Carolina is on the verge of getting a talent infusion of its own if defenseman Alexander Nikishin, a 2020 third round pick whose Russian season concluded, is allowed to terminate his KHL contract prior to its June 1 expiration.
It’s one of the obstacles keeping Devils forward prospect Arseni Gritsyuk, a 2019 fifth rounder who notched 44 points in 49 games this season, from crossing the pond in time for the NHL postseason. More problematic is the rule that limits the Devils’ ELC offer to one-year, which could be burned quickly if the team bows out early against the favored Hurricanes. The consensus believes it’s more likely Gritsyuk will be a key 2025-26 addition.
However, the Devils might have another ace up their sleeve. Goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, a 2024 second rounder, has been standing on his head for Boston University, leading the team to Saturday’s Frozen Four Final after stopping 32 of 33 shots in a 3-1 victory over Penn State in Thursday night’s semis.
Though born in St. Petersburgh, Yegorov, 19, is not bound to a Russian club. After he completes a season that has seen him post a sub-2.00 goals against average and a .934 save percentage in 17 games following his January BU enrollment, there is no reason for the Devils to delay his signing. The only issue should be when the term commences.
The Devils already have two veteran goaltenders in tow, with Jacob Markstrom costing them their 2025 first-round pick and defenseman Kevin Bahl in last offseason’s trade with Calgary specifically to address the team’s chronic leakage in net. However, Markstrom’s play has been rather spotty (just like the team in front of him) following a January MCL sprain. Since his return on March 2, Markstrom ranks 60th out of the 63 goalies who have played at least three games in NaturalStatTrick.com’s goals saved above average metric. His high danger save percentage, his calling card, ranks 55th.
Just when it appeared that Markstrom might be all the way back to his formidable form, he coughed up seven goals to the bottom-feeding Bruins on Tuesday.
Backup Jake Allen, 34, has posted better numbers of late and has a Cup on his resume, but if you peruse his recent game log, you’ll see that the Devils pretty much cherry-picked his opponents the way Mickey did for Rocky Balboa in Rocky III. When it came time for Allen to face his version of Clubber Lang at Winnipeg on March 28, he got rocked for four goals on 19 shots.
Shaky goaltending contributed to the Devils’ demise two years ago, so the organization must make a quick evaluation as to who gets the net in Round 1 or else another season will go by the boards.
And Yegorov should be part of the discussions.
I’m not saying he’ll be Dryden, who at least had a short AHL apprenticeship and then six NHL regular season games under his belt after leaving Cornell, but Yegorov does have attributes that translate to pro hockey success. He is a monster in net, looming even larger than his listed 6-foot 5, 180-pound frame. Like many Russian-trained goalies, he seals the bottom of the net when going down into his butterfly yet has quick reflexes and side-to-side movements. In a sense, Yegorov is reminiscent of Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevsky in the way he challenges shooters instead of preferring to stay back in his crease like the Islanders Ilya Sorokin.
Of course, college players don’t have the capability to test Yegorov with NHL game speed. Most of Penn State’s “shots” on Thursday were rather meek. However, Yegorov did come up with a pair of ten-bell saves with his blocker to thwart a 2-on-1 and a breakaway, showing how perfect a sniper must be to beat him one-on-one.
The lone goal against came on a third chance, with Yegorov flopping around a bit of out of control before Nicholas DeGraves slipped the loose puck in the crease into the net to cut BU’s lead to 2-1 with 17:45 remaining in the third period. Scouting reports highlighted how Yegorov will “battle”, but there’s a fine line between not giving up on plays and losing one’s positional fundamentals. He could also use some improvement with his skating and puckhandling.
The Devils have four regular season games remaining, all meaningless in the standings, but only two after Sunday afternoon’s affair versus the Islanders. The question isn’t whether New Jersey can carry Yegorov on the roster—every team will have a set of “black aces” in the press box—but whether they should. You only burn Year 1 if there is a realistic chance the player will see playoff action.
My guess is that the Devils will punt Yegorov to 2025-26 like Gritsyuk. We know Markstrom, barring another injury, will get Game 1, and you have to imagine that Devils Head Coach Sheldon Keefe will turn to Allen if a next man up is required. After that, who knows? We’ve seen crazier things in a league where a hot goaltender can make all the difference in the world, no matter where he came from.