Last season with defense in such a state of disarray, it was hard to properly gauge how well our goaltenders performed…particularly 24-year-old Russian goaltender, Yaroslav Askarov, as he played his first full season in the NHL. Splitting the season almost straight down the middle, the Sharks also had goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic at disposal. However, with such struggles, it was unclear who got the edge. Now with 21-year-old goaltender Yaroslav Korostelyov terminating his contract with the KHL with the intention of joining the Sharks, the goaltending question just got a tad more convoluted.
While there were definitely moments where he made some headscratching moves, Askarov was repeatedly left out to dry by defense. The total lack of support from defense, at times, made it difficult to assess how well Askarov was playing. While Nedeljkovic had a slightly better season, both seemed to struggle and Askarov seemingly was not reaching his full capabilities.
For years Askarov has been a highly touted goaltender, even being drafted 11th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators. Being drafted that high as a goaltender is nothing short of incredible, with only a handful of NHL goalies being drafted within the top 15 selections. In the 2022-2023 season, Askarov entered his first full season in North America.
Wasting no time to ease into the transition, Askarov quickly made a name for himself. Although he played a singular game for the Predators that season (GAA 4.15, SV% .886), he would spend the majority of the season leading the Predators’ AHL affiliate: the Milwaukee Admirals. In his 48 games played his rookie season, Askarov recorded a GAA of 2.69 and SV% of .911 while maintaining a record of 26-16-5. With such an effective rookie season, Yaroslav Askarov was named an AHL All-Star. He would then lead the Admirals in their playoff run with 12 games played, a GAA of 2.70, SV% of .903 and a record of 6-6-0.
Continuing his strong campaign in professional North American hockey, Askarov went into his second season with the Admirals ready to improve further. And improve he did: in 44 games he put up a GAA of 2.39, SV% of .911 and held a record of a fantastic 30-13-1. With this improvement, he was once again named an AHL All-Star, plus named to the AHL Top Prospects Team. Although his playoff performance this season was not as good as the previous (5GP, 3.25 GAA, .882 SV%, 2-3-0), he was still instrumental to the team’s run. Askarov even had a great two appearances for the Predators (although one would come in a relief effort): 1.47 GAA, .943 SV%. All things considered, the Predators knew they had a great goaltender who they could leverage in a trade.
In August 2024, Askarov was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for David Edstrom, Magnus Chrona and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Following the events of the trade, it’s relatively safe to say the Sharks were the winners (especially with Chrona no longer playing in the NHL). Yaroslav Askarov carried his confidence from Milwaukee/Nashville over to San Jose. In his first 13 appearances for the San Jose Sharks, Askarov notched a GAA of 3.10, SV% of .896, and a record 4-6-2. With his past success this was a bit underwhelming, but considering the state of the team it was actually pretty solid. He would also spend 22 games with the Barracuda, immediately making an impact. In those 22 games, Askarov had a GAA of 2.45, SV% of a fantastic .923 and record of 11-9-2. For the third consecutive year, his performance earned him recognition as an AHL All-Star and he again led his team to the playoffs. In six playoff games, Askarov registered 1.68 GAA, an incredible .935 SV%, and a record of 3-2-0.
Yes, Askarov’s success in the past has been undeniable. However, this past season he seemed to struggle. In his first full NHL season, Askarov recorded a GAA of 3.63, SV% of .884, and a record of 21-20-4 in 47 games. With that being said, his stats are seemingly not reflective of the real Yaroslav Askarov as Alex Nedeljkovich (who was marginally better) also struggled. The seasoned NHL veteran goalie played 40 games, had a GAA of 2.87, SV% of .896 and a record of 18-14-4. At many points defense was in such disorder both goalies were essentially left to face shooters alone, desperate for any form of congestion to block the shooting lane. This congestion would not come and left the goalies to scramble. Nedeljkovich had a painful debut with the team, losing in overtime on a goal he came extremely far out of the net to play. This decision backfired, but one can’t help but notice the total lack of support from other Sharks players during the play.
Maybe Nedeljkovich was moderately better, but Askarov seemingly has the stronger skill-set and track record. If you were to base who gets the position of starter off last season, you would seriously struggle. Plus, now Yaroslav Korostelyov is joining the organization, complicating things further. While Korostelyov has an impressive resume, at only 21-years-old with essentially no professional experience, it is likely he’ll be spending time in the AHL/ECHL. However, he still adds an interesting element of slight confusion to the ranking order of our goaltenders. Also, if we’re lucky, he might create healthy competition resulting in improvement from all parties.
Last season made it incredibly hard to judge the status of the San Jose Sharks’ goaltending situation, with defense adding more issues than solving them. Defense can only go up from last season, and it certainly looks better on paper than it did last year. However, this season will still be a defining one for our goaltenders…particularly Yaroslav Askarov.
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