Prospect Info: 2022 #225 - G Ivan Zhigalov

[Pokecheque]

His fundies are pretty bad actually. Very busy feet (big no no with goalies) with poor body tendencies to drop the glove on saves. Poor positioning too. He’s a top end athlete.

Well, we're familiar with goalies who drop their glove hands, so...

 

[Chiarelli]

How cool would it be for the Avs to hit on the very last pick of the draft...

 

[henchman21]

Well, we're familiar with goalies who drop their glove hands, so...

 

[John Mandalorian]

He’s flashy and athletic… but has some serious flaws. That’s why he fell… people don’t like his feet and technicals. Love his pure athletic ability.

This is a bet you can teach him to calm his feet, keep his glove hand from diving and building rebound control… while still keeping the ability to move quickly to make big saves (he has by far the most side to side highlight reel glove saves of any goalie in this draft).

So not like Annunen then?

 

[henchman21]

So not like Annunen then?

Pretty much the exact opposite of Annunen.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

How cool would it be for the Avs to hit on the very last pick of the draft...

With the year they just had? I almost expect him to play NHL games.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Pretty much the exact opposite of Annunen.

Maybe it says something about how "excited" they are about Annunen?

 

[Pokecheque]

Maybe it says something about how "excited" they are about Annunen?

Doubt this means anything good or bad about Annunen's development, they should always be drafting and developing goaltenders.

 

[henchman21]

Maybe it says something about how "excited" they are about Annunen?

This is more of a Shamkov sort of goalie selection... just take a flyer on talent and hope you can get something out of him. I don't think this really impact Annunen at all.

 

[Bone Breaker]

he is from Belarus? I already like it by default.

just noticed that Dylan Silverstein guy (amazing name btw) went undrafted. we could pick him later too as a college UFA, I guess?

 

[missionAvs]

If he’s not the next Shesterkin, then fire Joe

And Bednar.

 

[flyfysher]

This selection is another example of Sakic's creativity in terms of trying to fill a position of need by thinking outside of the box.

Did it with Francouz, Nichushkin, Meyers and now Zhigalov. Who's are goalie coach again? Parkkila? Can Parkkila fix Zhigalov's fundamentals? Would like to read @Gigantor The Goalie's take on this kid.

 

[Pokecheque]

This selection is another example of Sakic's creativity in terms of trying to fill a position of need by thinking outside of the box.

Did it with Francouz, Nichushkin, Meyers and now Zhigalov. Who's are goalie coach again? Parkkila? Can Parkkila fix Zhigalov's fundamentals? Would like to read @Gigantor The Goalie's take on this kid.

I'm positive both he and Peter Budaj will be working with him.

 

[Gumballhead]

Does Zhigalov translate to some sort of salad ingredient? If no, I hate this pick and Sakic has failed.

Means 'arugula' - spicy!

 

[AllAboutAvs]

How cool would it be for the Avs to hit on the very last pick of the draft...

If they do I would recommend they only keep their top-10 picks and trade for the last pick of the draft every year...trade all other picks....Profit!!!!

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

This selection is another example of Sakic's creativity in terms of trying to fill a position of need by thinking outside of the box.

Did it with Francouz, Nichushkin, Meyers and now Zhigalov. Who's are goalie coach again? Parkkila? Can Parkkila fix Zhigalov's fundamentals? Would like to read @Gigantor The Goalie's take on this kid.

There's a way Parkkila (and I guess Bednar/Sakic) want the goalies to play for the Avs. They want their goalies to be able to get aggressive quickly and react quickly to the chaos in front of them while having good positioning/structure to their game. We heard it from Jonas Johansson that as soon as he got to the Avs they wanted him to get aggressive in his challenging. So with Ivan Zhigalov they found themselves a goalie who can get aggressive quickly. He's able to get off powerful, explosive pushes via his edges and does well in manipulating his edges to get him around the crease quickly. If you want a big goalie who can haul ass Zhigalov fits that bill.

The downside with Zhigalov is it looks like he just started playing the position at the start of the year. Mechanically and structurally...he has neither in any large quantities. He'd fit in well at a U14 goalie camp. He's got some of the basics down but it's hard not to look at him and wonder how has this guy made any saves. You do have to give him credit for his shot tracking and reactions. It's going to be a long process though getting this guy up to speed on what it really takes to be a goalie. Budaj and Parkkila are not playing on easy mode with Zhigalov.

Side note: C'mon Hugo Havelid was right there.

 

[JoeSakic13]

Does Zhigalov translate to some sort of salad ingredient? If no, I hate this pick and Sakic has failed.

I bet this is because MacK’s next contract he’s already asking for “more healthy foods in the locker room”

 

[the_fan]

Zhigalov and Georgiev best tandem in NHL in 2026. Mark my words

 

[niwotsblessing]

Thought this guy was 6’6 by some of the comments… and turns out he’s 6’3?

Is that not the average height of a NHL goalie?

That's the @Hasbro beacon!

 

[Hasbro]

Thought this guy was 6’6 by some of the comments… and turns out he’s 6’3?

Is that not the average height of a NHL goalie?

Size Queen

 

[AllAboutAvs]

There's a way Parkkila (and I guess Bednar/Sakic) want the goalies to play for the Avs. They want their goalies to be able to get aggressive quickly and react quickly to the chaos in front of them while having good positioning/structure to their game. We heard it from Jonas Johansson that as soon as he got to the Avs they wanted him to get aggressive in his challenging. So with Ivan Zhigalov they found themselves a goalie who can get aggressive quickly. He's able to get off powerful, explosive pushes via his edges and does well in manipulating his edges to get him around the crease quickly. If you want a big goalie who can haul ass Zhigalov fits that bill.

The downside with Zhigalov is it looks like he just started playing the position at the start of the year. Mechanically and structurally...he has neither in any large quantities. He'd fit in well at a U14 goalie camp. He's got some of the basics down but it's hard not to look at him and wonder how has this guy made any saves. You do have to give him credit for his shot tracking and reactions. It's going to be a long process though getting this guy up to speed on what it really takes to be a goalie. Budaj and Parkkila are not playing on easy mode with Zhigalov.

Side note: C'mon Hugo Havelid was right there.

I might be accused of being a size-queen by Hasbro but does Havelid comes with a twin so that they cover the whole net? 5'10" 174 lbs Yikes. that is very small by NHL standards.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

I might be accused of being a size-queen by Hasbro but does Havelid comes with a twin so that they cover the whole net? 5'10" 174 lbs Yikes. that is very small by NHL standards.

He does come with a twin though he plays defense and is about the same size. The weight isn't NHL size but honestly goalies are given height boosts all the time. Antti Raanta for example is not 6' tall. He's an inch or so shorter. Juuse Saros is another small goalie. It's a market inefficiency that teams refuse to take advantage of. They keep drafting these huge goalies that are slow as hell, full of holes or don't actually know how to play the position when you can give smaller goalies opportunities that can actually make a difference. I'm not saying every small goalie is going to make it and every big goalie won't. It's just a lot of teams don't even want to consider a small goalie for whatever reason.

 

[henchman21]

He does come with a twin though he plays defense and is about the same size. The weight isn't NHL size but honestly goalies are given height boosts all the time. Antti Raanta for example is not 6' tall. He's an inch or so shorter. Juuse Saros is another small goalie. It's a market inefficiency that teams refuse to take advantage of. They keep drafting these huge goalies that are slow as hell, full of holes or don't actually know how to play the position when you can give smaller goalies opportunities that can actually make a difference. I'm not saying every small goalie is going to make it and every big goalie won't. It's just a lot of teams don't even want to consider a small goalie for whatever reason.

Frank also isn’t 6’

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Frank also isn’t 6’

They all lie!

 

[henchman21]

They all lie!

6 inches is normal!