Perhaps no one on this year’s 25 Under 25 list has more to prove this season than San Jose Sharks prospect Yaroslav Askarov. After all, this year is exactly why he requested a trade out of Nashville. Over the next nine months, Askarov has the opportunity to prove that he can be an NHL starter, or at the very least, that he has the chops to make it in the NHL. There is no one on the depth chart holding him back. There is no one waiting in the wings if he stumbles. With all due respect to Alex Nedeljkovic, it’s Askarov or the Sharks will need to go back to the drawing board in net.
But this is what Askarov has been waiting for and for all intents and purposes, what he’s been training for. Last season with the Sharks, Askarov had a 4-6-2 record with a 3.10 goals against average and a .896 save percentage. He wasn’t great, but neither were the Sharks. He’ll have a slightly better defense in front of him and more certainty in his role on the team, which should help in the short run. What he does with that though, is up to him.
Over three seasons in the AHL, Askarov has earned his call up. He has a combined 67-38-7-13 record. His goals against average is 2.53 and his save percentage is .913. He’s done the work to earn the chance to play at the next level.
Position: Goaltender
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 178 pounds
Age: 23
Date of Birth: June 16, 2002
Draft Year: 2020 (11th overall by the Nashville Predators)
Catches: Right
2025-26 Team: San Jose Sharks
What we like
Let’s start with confidence. Askarov is confident in his skills and his ability to play in the NHL. He’s going to need that confidence as he heads into the best league in the world. A goaltender needs to be in the right headspace if he’s going to go up against the likes of Sidney Crosby, Jack Eichel, Anze Kopitar and … well, you get the idea, night after night. Askarov’s confidence will be tested this season so starting out in the right frame of mind is key. So far, it looks like he’s there.
But in addition to confidence, Askarov has that innate skill set that you need in a potential number one goaltender. Askarov is mobile and athletic. He is quick and reactionary. In a recent interview with Brodie Brazil, Sharks’ goaltending coach Evgeni Nabokov praised Askarov for his hockey intelligence, saying that there’s not much that he does to coach the goaltender, and lets Askarov work through things and come to him with questions.
Then there was this from The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler earlier in the year: “His agility, explosiveness and reads are so impressive that he can steal games when he’s at his best and make the difficult saves that others just can’t get to or stick with. There isn’t a goalie prospect in the world with quicker feet through shuffles or more explosiveness side-to-side or low-to-high than Askarov. That blend of power and speed combined with his extended track record at a young age gives him a very high upside.”
There is a lot to be excited about when it comes to Askarov and it should be fun for Sharks fans who get to see it all come together this season.
Areas of improvement
This isn’t necessarily something that Askarov has 100% control over, but it’s certainly the one thing that he and the Sharks’ coaching staff need to be most focused on — his health. Askarov missed a portion of last season with an injury, which caused him to miss two months during the Barracuda’s stretch run last spring. While Askarov ultimately came back for the playoffs, managing his workload this season so that he does not get injured will be a key area for the Sharks and the player.
After that, it’s adjusting to the play of a full NHL season. Working on his game itself can come later. Getting the player accustomed to the NHL seems to be the most important part of this season for Askarov and the Sharks’ management because he, like the rest of the young team, needs to learn what it’s like to be a professional hockey player in the NHL grind.
This is a building block along the way to what Sharks fans are hoping will be a Stanley Cup-contending team, and Askarov is slated to be a big part of that. This season is about building him into the goaltender the Sharks will need him to be for that future team.
What’s next for Askarov?
Askarov will be the starter, or at least the 1A in a 1A/1B tandem with Nedeljkovic for the Sharks this season. Worst-case scenario, he gets injured early on, and the Sharks are left scrambling to find a goaltender either off the waiver wire or via free agency (James Reimer, anyone?). But let’s not think about that.
In the best-case scenario, Askarov has a season similar to what the Calgary Flames’ Dustin Wolf did last season. Wolf is someone that Askarov matched in the net in the AHL a few seasons ago. Last season, Wolf worked his way into the Calder Trophy conversation and almost willed the Flames into the playoffs. If Askarov can do that for the Sharks, well, we’ll all be ecstatic.
Highlights
Askarov may not have won a lot in the NHL, but he made some great, NHL-caliber saves, like this one against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
YAROSLAV ASKAROV SHUTS THE DOOR! 🙅♂️ pic.twitter.com/qkIH4RszWx
— NHL (@NHL) January 3, 2025
… and this one against the Minnesota Wild.
Yaroslav Askarov stretches across the crease to take away a sure goal! 🦈 pic.twitter.com/tUIlJDlfBE
— NHL (@NHL) January 12, 2025
Also, I wonder if this shutout celebration carries over to the NHL.
Previous Top 25 Under 25 Posts
6. Sam Dickinson
7. Shakir Mukhamadullin
8. Igor Chernyshov
9. Quentin Musty
10. Luca Cagnoni
11. Collin Graf
12. Filip Bystedt
13. Joshua Ravensbergen
14. Kasper Halttunen
15. Eric Pohlkamp
16. Cam Lund
17. Ethan Cardwell
18. Haoxi Wang
19. Leo Sahlin Wallenius
20. Jack Thompson
21. Cole McKinney
22. Zack Ostapchuk
23. Mattias Havelid
24. Egor Afanasyev
25. Carson Wetsch
Honorable Mentions: Joey Muldowney, Jake Furlong, Brandon Svoboda, Nate Misskey, Gabriel Carriere
