Welcome to the second post of my newsletter! It’s been awhile since I released my first piece. Today’s article will be about Goaltender Ilya Konovalov, who is entering his first ever season in North America. The net-minder signed his ELC back on May 3rd and has been one of the more intriguing prospects in the pipeline since being drafted back in 2019. With the Oilers rookie camp going underway soon, along with a couple of games against the Calgary Flames’ rookies. I decided it would be a good idea to go on a deep dive on him.
Ilya’s Draft Year
Now, I am no goalie expert unlike @Oilingoal (who you should follow btw. Excellent insight in the goaltending realm), but it does certainly seem like the organization has a lot of faith and trust in Ilya when they decided to pass on Jesper Wallstedt at the draft. When he was first drafted, Konovalov was a few weeks away from turning 21 and was in his 4th year of draft eligibility. His draft year saw him post incredible numbers with a record of 25-15-1 and a jaw-dropping 1.89GAA and a .930SV%. Yes, for an over-ager, one would expect Ilya to post such results. But the one thing that pops out to me is comparing Konovalov’s first FULL year to other young KHL netminders at the time.
Note: If the goaltender played less than 10 games in a season, it will not count.
Ilya Samsonov (18): 2015/16: 6-4-3 0.925SV% 2.04GAA
Ilya Sorokin (18): 2013/14: 5-12-0 0.911SV% 2.90 GAA
Igor Shesterkin (21!!!): 2016/17: 27-4-6. 0.937SV% 1.64GAA
Ilya Konovalov (20): 2018/19: 25-15-1 0.930SV% 1.89GAA
As you can see, Konovalov actually had a way better season than Sorokin and Samsonov, both who are great young Russian goalies for the Isles and the Caps and are also dubbed their “Goalie of the Future”. Even Shesterkin’s stats are close with Konovalov, despite Ilya playing a few more games. Now, there is the argument that Konovalov and Shesterkin are older and that’s a good point. Both played a lot of games in the VHL and MHL that led up to them becoming starters in the KHL. However, Konovalov was the only goaltender on the list above to not be picked until well later on in his career and wasn’t to be thought much of until the Oilers selected him. There is one logical reason for this.
Size
One thing in common between the three goalies I mentioned was the fact that all of them were 6 foot 3 (which is the average height a goalie should be). Ilya Konovalov, on the other hand, is only 5 foot 11. Height is a big thing for net-minders. The bigger they are, the more net they cover. Common sense I know. This may not be as a big as an issue nowadays as we’ve seen guys like Juuse Saros, probably a top 5 goalie in the league, Anton Khudobin (who was on fire back in the 2020 bubble) and Jaro Halak carve out pretty lengthy NHL careers thus far. If Konovalov’s prime was between Saros and Khudobin, which would be a 55 game starter with stats hovering around a 0.915SV% and a 2.5GAA, the Oilers have a young, capable goaltender on their hands.
What to expect to see from him in the AHL + any improvements?
We should expect Konovalov to split starts with Stuart Skinner in Bakersfield, with Olivier Rodrigues going to Wichita. I have a lot of faith in Jay Woodcroft’s system that could see Kono succeed in his first pro season. It’s not an easy thing for Russian goalies to come over to North America, as they are accustomed to the larger ice surfaces in their home country. Shesterkin started 2019/20 in the AHL where he was INCREDIBLE posting a .934SV%, a 1.90 GAA and a 17-4-5 record. If Ilya can stay healthy and get his game under control here, a successful first season could see him post numbers around .915 and 2.60GAA. If he does happen to struggle, you give him some time to work on his game in practice or play some games in Wichita.
Here are some scouting reports from Ilya Konovalov’s draft year and what he could improve on in the future:
”He doesn’t have the type of size teams are usually looking for in goalies but he’s quick and agile, isn’t afraid to leave the blue paint to challenge attackers, and he has a good glove as well. His situation is a bit similar to Veini Vehviläinen’s, another average-sized goalie who was also passed over thrice but finally got drafted after proving himself at the pro level…. if he has another strong season in the KHL, his stock will be rising very quickly. Don’t sleep on this guy.” -Jokke Nevalainen, Dobber Prospects
”He’s six-foot with good but not great athleticism, so I was initially quite skeptical. Konovalov’s hockey sense is outstanding, though, and won me over. His eyes seem magnetically attracted to the puck. He’s never fooled by reverse passes from behind the net, centering plays and stays in position even when the puck is bouncing around the crease. He has that very low panic threshold you want in a goalie. He may never make the spectacular diving save, but he often never needs to. His movements are quick and smooth enough that he squares up most pucks.” -Corey Pronman, The Athletic
“With Konovalov, it is all about being a hard worker. While not being overly gifted, he had been showing progress year after year and was able to refine his technique to the level of setting some records in the KHL. It’s not easy to tell if there’s NHL starter potential here.. I won’t be surprised if it is there. -Russian Prospect
Expect much more articles from me on the future regarding Oilers prospects and news. Also keep an eye on my Twitter page @Shae_Nuge93 for tweets on these prospects and 2022 NHL Draft Eligible players.
I look forward to reading more of your articles! Go Oilers
- Wanye from OilersNation.com