Artur Akhtyamov
Age: 19
H/W: 6’1″/157 lbs
POS: G
2021 Team: Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)/Bars Kazan (VHL)/Irbis Kazan (MHL)
Drafted: 106th Overall (Round 4) 2020 NHL Entry Draft
Artur Akhtyamov’s season was spent all across the vast leagues in Russia as well as the U20 WJC.
In 3 games in the KHL, Akhtyamov posted a .904 SV% with a record of 0-1-1. In the VHL, a record of 5-4-4 with a SV% of .927, and in the MHL a record of 5-4-4 with a SV% of .935 – not bad numbers for a young goaltender bouncing around from league to league and team to team (stats eliteprospects.com).
In December Akhtyamov would join fellow Toronto Maple Leaf Prospects in the 2021 World Junior Championship where he would play as the Russian Backup Goalie. In the one game he appeared in, he posted a SV% of .944 and secured a victory. The Russians finished fourth in the tournament.
Like Amirov, Akhtyamov has a lot of room to grow physically and with time, that will come. Ahktyamov still has a good foundation in the net though with good positional saves and quick reflexes on second chances.
Goalies have a tendency to take longer than almost anyone else to develop, so odds are that we’re still a few years away from seeing Akhtyamov getting a shot on the Toronto Maple Leafs.