Goaltending Prospect Varlamov Still Looking Good

Semen Varlamov had a great year with his team, Lokamotiv Yaroslavl. Eurohockey.net rated Varlamov as “undoubtedly” the best rookie goaltender of the 07/07 season. Brought in to back up former national team goaltender Egor Podomatsky, the 19 year old ended up starting 33 games, earning a 2.17 GAA. I am not a big fan of GAA, since it does not really measure a goalie’s ability as much as it measures the defense’s ability to block or reduce shots on goal, but that is all I can find.

On the bad side, goaltending in Russia is notoriously weak, and the larger ice surfaces make for a slightly different game than in North America. Varlamov has an unusual style that will need work. His stance is awkward and inefficient and he has a tendency to get up with the wrong foot, but technique can be acquired, and his speed and skill makes up for his technical flaws.

The good news is that playing in RSL is another step for Varlamov, having played for a lower division team last year. Varlamov dominates at every level he seems to play at, from Junios to World Juniors from Russian farm league to the Super League, he is clearly the best Russian goaltending orospect to come along in quite awhile. Even his flaws are pretty good, as the major knocks I have read regarding Varlamov are related to technique, which means he can greatly improve once he comes to North America.

Apparently, he is still vying for a spot on the World Championship roster, but I can’t seem to find anything on this to confirm other than a mention by Mike Vogel on the Capital’s Report podcast. Haven’t heard yesterday’s podcast but I will email a question on Varlamov next week for sure if I can’t find anything. Don’t expect him to take anything away from Khabibulin, but he may start some of the soft games perhaps.

Things look promising, but even if Kolzig can last 3 more years, I don’t know if Varlamov will be ready to step in to the NHL as a 23 year old netminder. I will write an article on bridging the gap between Kolzig and Varlamov or Neuvirth in another installment. Be patient and be wary, there was that one goaltending prospect in the early 90’s who had the same name (with different spelling) as a very famous comedian/movie star who didn’t turn out so hot after he won a Vezina trophy.