Ivan Zhigalov is a second-year draft eligible goalie who enjoyed a breakout season after seeing only limited appearances while playing in Europe last year. He has a solid grounding of fundamentals from pre-shot preparation through to the save and into post-save recovery. He favors a hybrid style and displays patience as he engages with shot attempts from a standing or butterfly position. He makes deliberate movements, reads and anticipates the attack and turns away shots with good rebound control. He moves very efficiently through his crease. His post-to-post mobility is fluid, and he can telescope to the top of his crease and back again with very little disruption to his stance or his ability to address the shooter. His post entry and RVH play is top-notch, He seals any openings and attaches with a strong toe-lock on the post, he gets up and down quickly, takes away the high short side but can still flair his legs to deal with any weakside attempts or a puck-carrier moving across the face of the net. Over the past year he has shown some real improvements in his play. He’s built up his technique to handle most shots with a reassuring comfort and he’s upgraded his athleticism to add speed and scrambling ability to his skillset. He can be expected to continue to develop aspects of his play and, although he has a good glove hand, there is still some room to improve that skill in particular. At the moment, he projects nicely as an eventual NHL backup, but given enough time and the right support, taking on a more prominent role is not out of the question, especially after seeing a spike in his development over the course of the past year. He could be a steal if he matches that growth spurt next year.

– FCHockey’s 2022 NHL Draft Guide