Sergei Murashov has reached a very different point in his Penguins journey than he did a year ago, and the difference shows in everything from his confidence to the way the organization talks about him.
Murashov himself said each of his three training camps has felt distinct. The first came when he was still something of a mystery, and he was spending time with Wheeling in the ECHL during the first half of the 2024-25 season. That stretch turned into a historic run: Murashov put together a 13-game win streak from Nov. 6 to Jan. 8, the longest by a goalie in Nailers history and the longest by a rookie in ECHL history.
He carried that momentum into Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he went 12-3 and set a team rookie record with a 10-game win streak. After that season, Penguins Assistant GM Jason Spezza praised the upside but stressed patience, pointing to Murashov’s age, the adjustment to a different style of game, and the depth at the position.
Then came a second camp and a tough decision from management, even after a strong showing. Murashov said that at this time last year, “I was leaving this building not in a pleasant state,” but the reaction around him told a different story.
Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas said Murashov didn’t complain or pout, but kept attacking every day with the same energy, and that approach helped him earn AHL Goaltender of the Month honors for October. That award eventually led to his first call-up.
Murashov made the most of it. He debuted against Los Angeles in Pittsburgh, then picked up his first career win and shutout against Nashville in Sweden before heading back to WBS.
From there, he was named an AHL All-Star for the second straight year and started all 15 of WBS’ Calder Cup Playoff games. He finished the postseason with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.
Penguins Director of Minor League Operations and WBS Assistant GM Amanda Kessel said, “Sergei, obviously, has been incredible, and I think he instills a lot of confidence in the rest of the team to go out and do what they need to do, and that he's gonna be there to back them up,”
She added, “He's always been a pretty consistent guy and goalie in his approach. It's incredible to watch.
But just even more so, you don't see it really many weak goals on him, and it's not often that he has back-to-back bad games. ... Every single day, he does everything possible to be the best, and he's just dialed in every drill, practice. ...
He just tries to keep mastering his craft every day, and it's fun to watch.”
That steadiness carried into Murashov’s offseason work. He described a summer built around self-scouting and improvement.
“After the season, I asked myself, all right, all the areas, how can I get better in every area, what can I do better,” Murashov said. “I had a lot of talks with coaches after the season. We kind of go through what we can do better, what we did well, what are my strengths, and basically, yeah, really productive work.”
He spent much of July on the ice focusing on the basics, which he called “so boring, but you have to do all this.” He also did yoga, saying it was “a tremendous thing for mind, for body, for balance, for this connection.”
August brought more work: video sessions with goalie coach Andy Chiodo, sports psychology work with Penguins consultant Dr. Kevin Wildenhaus, and a trip to Minnesota to sharpen hand-eye coordination with Josh Tucker of True Focus Vision.
Now Murashov is back for his third camp with a clearer runway and another chance to keep moving up.
“But at the end of the day, it’s just one step, and the question is, what's going to be my next step?” Murashov said. “And just keep going, moving forward.”
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