The Blue Jackets have finally locked in Sergei Ivanov, bringing their goalie prospect under contract with a two-year entry-level deal.
Ivanov, who was selected 138th overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, is expected to spend the 2026-27 season in the Kontinental Hockey League before making the jump to North America, according to the CBJ. His ELC runs through the 2028 season.
Columbus had been waiting on this one for a while. Back in March, ESPN’s Rachel Kryshak reported that Don Waddell told her that "the organization believes Ivanov is ready, and he confirmed his intention to come to North America when his KHL contract expires after this season."
Waddell sounded confident then, and he backed that up again in the team’s announcement. “We are thrilled to sign Sergei to an entry level contract,” said Waddell. “He possesses great quickness and agility, along with sound positional play, and has performed exceptionally well as a very young goaltender in the KHL over the past four seasons.”
Ivanov spent most of this past season with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, where he went 13-11-2 with a 2.50 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
He also posted three shutouts. In the VHL, Russia’s second-tier league, he saw time with SKA-VMF St.
Petersburg and finished 1-4-1 with a .935 save percentage. Ivanov has been getting starts in Russia’s top league since 2022.
He also appeared in the playoffs for SKA, going 1-1-0 with a .938 save percentage.
The Blue Jackets drafted Ivanov in the same 2022 class that included Denton Mateychuk, Luca Del Bel Belluz and Jordan Dumais.
Columbus’ goalie picture still has some moving parts. The Monsters will have youngsters Evan Gardner and Nolan Lalonde in the mix, and they also signed veteran Pheonix Copley.
Elvis Merzlikins is entering the final year of his contract, which could make this his last season with the club. Looking ahead, Jet Greaves and Ivanov could be the tandem in Columbus in 2027.
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