Few netminders in NHL history have hit the ground running as effectively as Igor Shesterkin. Upon arriving in North America, his learning curve was remarkably short. Granted, everything pointed to the fact that he’d be a sensation.
In the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg, Shesterkin was a brick wall between the pipes. For three seasons from 2016-17 through 2018-19, the Russian puckstopper was 71-12-10. That included a farewell season of 2018-19 when he was 24-4-0 with an astonishingly low 1.11 GAA and amazing .953 save percentage.
Most netminders serve a lengthy apprenticeship in the minor leagues while adapting to the North American pro game. In Shesterkin’s case, the learning curve was done in a little over three months.
The Rangers originally selected Shesterkin 118th overall in the 2014 NHL entry draft. They signed him to his first NHL contract in 2019 at the age of 24. Starting the season with the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, where he went 17-4-3 with a 1.90 GAA and .934 save percentage, by early January, Shesterkin was summoned to the NHL.
Igor Shesterkin scores an amazing goal in the goalie contest and copies Buchnevich's Canoe Celly 🛶😂 pic.twitter.com/mpt4qduvt1
— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) August 14, 2024
He made his NHL debut on January 7, 2020, making 29 saves during a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. It was a preview of coming attractions. Through his first dozen NHL games, Shersterkin was 10-2-0 with a 2.52 GAA and .922 save percentage. That stretch included a seven-game winning streak from January 31 through February 22 in which the Russian puckstopper allowed a meager 16 goals.
Shesterkin took no time in establishing that not only was he the Rangers’ goalie of the future, but also that the future was arriving right now. He would quickly usurp the role as the club’s No. 1 goaltender from future Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist, who’d held forth in that position since 2006.
The 2021-22 NHL season was a remarkable campaign for Shesterkin. During the regular season, he’d post a 2.09 GAA and .935 save percentage. That performance would earn him the Vezina Trophy and selection to the NHL’s First All-Star Team. His save percentage was the third-best ever turned in by an NHL goalie, trailing only Boston’s Tim Thomas (.938, 2010-11) and Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek (.937 in 1998-99).
During the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs that spring, Shesterkin would turn in a record-setting performance. He made a club-record 79 saves in a 4-3 triple overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In Stanley Cup history, only Joonas Korpisalo of Columbus (85 saves in the 2020 playoffs) has turned aside more pucks in a single game.