The Toronto Maple Leafs made sure they locked up another young goalie by adding 2024 fifth-round pick Timofei Obvintsev to a one-year AHL deal on Friday.
With Artur Akhtyamov showing some serious potential this past season, the Maple Leafs are hoping that lightning strikes twice.
On Friday the team announced they had signed their 2024 fifth-round pick Timofei Obvintsev to a one-year AHL deal, marking his first North American contract in professional hockey:
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The announcement was made by agent Dan Milstein, who has been extremely active this offseason and Obvintsev adds another name to Gold Star Groups growing clientele list.
Who Timofei Obvintsev is and why he was scouted so heavily
Obvintsev, 21, spent time split between the MHL and VHL in Russia, which are the two other professional leagues in addition to the KHL.
He only appeared in six games for Gornyak UGMK (VHL) and went 1-3-0 with a 2.86 GAA and .899 SV%. His best season came in 2023-24 with Krasnaya Armiya Moskva (MHL) where he had a 7-7-0 record with a 2.96 GAA and .921 SV%.
Tall, but lanky as he's listed at 6-foot-3 but only 180 pounds, he has time to bulk up and his exposure to the North American game is going to be a true test. With Akhtyamov already settled in, he'll be able to give Obvintsev some advice and help him acclimate in coming over to Canada.
What's also great about him is that he plays a similar style to Akhtyamov, as he's more of a wild-card and plays to his own beat. He's rangy and loose, often using every inch of his frame to make saves, and it's less about perfection and more about performance.
HockeyProspects.com had a great bit of insight as to what you can expect from Obvintsev and why he ranks higher than others in his class:
We talk a lot about extension rates with goalies, and that's because they are critical. Obvintsev has elite extensions and is the top goalie in this class when focusing on this quality. Other aspects of his athleticism also shine.
He's excellent at transitioning between save types, had a rapid transitional butterfly, and is fleet of foot when needing to use his skating to either re-integrate or integrate from his post.
Toronto emptied its crease and is rebuilding it with Russian firepower
With Obvintsev in tow, it's like we have a trio of Russian netminders who can all learn from each other. In addition to Akhtyamov and now Obvintsev, the team also has arguably one of the greatest Russian goalies of all time in Sergei Bobrovsky now.
The team went from a variety of players from America, Sweden, and Canada but it's clear their focus now is rebuilding from Russia.
Not a bad decision considering some of the talent coming out of the country, and we have the staunch veteran (Bobrovsky) able to guide the next starter (Akhtyamov) meanwhile the person to join Ahktyamov gets a chance to learn from a Calder Cup winner and Playoff MVP.
Obvintsev is still going to be a few years away from being considered in the Maple Leafs' plans but right now he's setting himself up to have a ton of success with some great mentors able to guide him as he transitions over.
Will Timofei Obvintsev ever get a chance in the NHL?
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