Flames Top 25 Under 25: #20 - Artyom Zagidulin

#20 - Artyom Zagidulin

Position: Goaltender

Age: 23

Team: Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)

Signed on April 9, 2019

Last Year Ranking: N/A

Brad Treliving and Flames management dove back into the European goaltending pool this offseason as they aimed to add some depth at the position. They came back with 23 year old Russia netminder Artyom Zagidulin. Zagidulin dressed for 25 games last year for Magnitogrosk of the KHL, putting up an impressive 1.96 GAA and .924 SV% for the team.

The Flames most notable goaltending signing in the last few years was when they went over to Europe and signed David Rittich. Rittich has now become the Flames #1 netminder, so not a bad investment. It’s actually very intriguing how similar the two goaltenders career paths have been.

Both were signed by the Flames organization heading into their 24 year old season, after having played a career high number of games the previous year. Both have primarily played for their hometown teams in Europe thus far, meaning there will be a noticeable adjustment period for Zagidulin as he makes his way over. He did also play 6 games for China’s Kunlun Red Star in the KHL during the 2016-17 season, but other than that he’s played all his games for Magnitogorsk.

While it’s definitely unfair to assume he’ll have the same success as Rittich in translating his game to North America, there is definitely reason to be hopeful for him. He’ll most likely be starting the season with the Stockton Heat, and fingers crossed will split duties with Tyler Parsons.