Most experts agree: The goalie position in ice hockey is the position that takes the longest to develop. A handful of goalies can boast of having been promoted to the National Hockey League (NHL) by the age of 20.
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Yaroslav Askarov is the last to try his luck. The 11th drafted goaltender in 2020 made his debut Thursday night as the Nashville Predators lost to the Montreal Canadiens.
Since 2015-2016, nine other goaltenders under the age of 20 have played in the NHL. Here you are :
Hugo Alnefelt
MARTIN ALARIE / QMI AGENCY / JOURNAL DE MONTREAL
Before Askarov, Swede Hugo Alnefelt was the youngest player to join this select group last year.
Let’s say the Tampa Bay Lightning pro would probably like to forget his first duel at the Bettman Circuit, he conceded three goals in just 20 minutes of play.
Spencer Knight
Spencer Knight wasn’t just playing when he was 20, he was 19 too! At the end of the 2020-2021 season, the Florida Panthers offered the young American, who had just finished his season in the NCAA, a chance.
Considered the organization’s future goaltender, he won his first four games in the NHL.
Cayden Primeau
Cayden Primeau, who is destined to be the Canadiens’ future starting goaltender, has had several opportunities to assert himself over the past three years. The 199th overall winner of the 2017 auction played his first two games for the big club in December 2019 and put in a strong performance by beating the Ottawa Senators in overtime.
Michael DiPietro
Here’s one that quickly fell off its pedestal and got off to a disastrous start. DiPietro joined the Vancouver Canucks straight from the Ontario Junior League in 2019.
In his only game on February 11, he scored seven goals from 24 shots for the San Jose Sharks. He has not been able to get a full-time job since then, he is playing in the ECHL this season.
Caden Fulcher
Without being a true stranger to the battalion, Kaden Fulcher is one player who hasn’t made much of a mark on the NHL. The one who took his first steps as a pro was urgently called down by the ECHL to help Jimmy Howard in the last week of the 2018-2019 season.
Fulcher has not seen Bettman’s racetrack near or far since.
Dylan Ferguson
Speaking of an emergency recall, Dylan Ferguson came to the aid of the Vegas Golden Knights for nine minutes in an 8-2 massacre on November 14, 2017.
The 19-year-old was in the middle of his junior season with the Kamloops Blazers. For a moment, he became an assistant to Maxime Lagacé, the Knights’ fourth goaltender at the start of the season…
Carter Hart
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Back to a household name with Carter Hart, the young No. 1 player for the Philadelphia Flyers. Since beginning his NHL career in December 2018 at the age of 20, the Albertan has had his ups and downs.
His best season to date was his second as he led the team to the second round of the playoffs. It’s been a roller coaster ever since, but so have the Flyers.
Alex Nedeljkovic
Nedeljkovic was perhaps thrust into the limelight a little early when the Detroit Red Wings offered him the No. 1 title last year.
It must be said that the Ohio native came out of nowhere after a great finish to the season with the 2020-2021 Carolina Hurricanes. He even played his first game in 2017, five years before he received a regular position.
Juuse Saros
Prior to Askarov, the Predators had also trusted another 20-year-old goalie, Finn Juuse Saros. Before taking over the retirement from Pekka Rinne, the 5’11” bouncer slowly made progress as he was given more and more responsibilities.
It all started on November 28, 2015 with a 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabers. Today Saros is considered one of the best in his field.
– Of goalies still in the NHL, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Chris Driedger, John Gibson, Petr Mrazek, Robin Lehner, Jacob Markstrom, Dustin Tokarski, Semyon Varlamov, Jonathan Bernier and Marc-André Fleury made their debuts aged 20 or younger. like a certain Carey Price.