3. Artur Akhtyamov
Age: 22
Height/Weight: 6'2",170 LBS.
Position: Goalie
Shoots: Left
Draft: 4th round,106th overall, 2020
The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted goalie Artur Akhtyamov in the 4th round of the 2020 draft. The Leafs haven't had much luck drafting goalies in the last 30 or so years. Joseph Woll is currently their co-starter, but he is the first good goalie that they have drafted and and developed since Felix Potvin over 30 years ago.
Goalies have a degree of randomness that other players just don't have - you never know what you're going to get - but, they also happen to be the most important players on any roster. Therefore, I tend to rank well regarded goalie prospects very high on these lists because to me, the most important thing about a prosect is their ceiling.
Fraser Minten has a much better chance of making the NHL than Akhtyamov, but Akhtyamov might just win a Vezina trophy and become a household name. Of course, he likely won't, but isn't the fun of these lists the potential?
Since being drafted, Akhtyamov dominated the KHL feeder league he was playing in, they moved up to the KHL and also had success. Though he played just 17 games last year in the KHL, he had a .921 save percentage.
This year, the Marlies have played seven games at the time I'm writing this, and Akhtyamov has started four of them, and won them all. He has a 1.47 GAA and a .947 S%.
Suddenly, the Leafs are looking like a bit of a goaltending factory!