The Florida Panthers used the very last pick of the 2025 NHL Draft to take a swing on a goalie with size and upside, grabbing Yegor Midlak 224th overall at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
Midlak, a left-catching netminder, landed in the Panthers’ system after a draft season split across HC Spartak Moscow’s two teams in Russia’s top junior league, the MHL. In four games with MHK Spartak, he put up a 1-0-1 record, a 1.06 goals against average and a .941 save percentage.
He also made one relief appearance for MHK Krylia Sovetov and did not allow a goal. Against players his own age with Spartak’s U18 team, he appeared in 10 games, finished with a 2.32 goals against average and earned one shutout.
The following season, 2025-26, was a quieter one in terms of workload but still gave a fuller look at his game. Midlak spent the entire year with MHK Spartak as a backup, playing in 20 of the club’s 60 games. He went 5-5-2 with a 3.60 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
He has not yet made it to Fort Lauderdale for a development camp, though that could change next year if his progression takes another step and he earns the No. 1 job with MHK Spartak this season. Bill Zito has shown a clear willingness to bet on oversized goaltenders in the seventh round, doing it with Denis Gabdrakhmanov at 6’5″ in 2024, Midlak at 6’6″ in 2025 and Louis-Antoine Denault at 6’8″ in June.
Midlak covers a lot of net and moves well in the crease, but he remains a raw prospect who needs more games. For now, the path is straightforward: keep developing in Russia, move from the MHL to the VHL to the KHL, and eventually make the jump to North America with a chance to move past the “Mr. Irrelevant” label.
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