Anticipate a wave of newer faces looking to prove themselves in net this NHL season. Last season, only the Calgary Flames [https://thn.com/calgary]’ Dustin Wolf was able to take the reins and break into a full-time NHL role, playing more than one-fifth of the season in the big leagues. This year, a handful of NHL teams have seemingly prioritized younger netminders moving up ahead of the 2025-26 season. The group below will only include netminders who have yet to have played around 18 games in an NHL season beforehand, so the Buffalo Sabres [https://thn.com/buffalo]’ Devon Levi, who played 23 in 2023-24, and Vegas Golden Knights [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights]’ Akira Schmid, who surpassed the mark twice before, won’t be considered as they’ve already accrued enough NHL pedigree. YAROSLAV ASKAROV, SAN JOSE SHARKS Yaroslav Askarov has been the talk of hockey circles ever since being selected 11th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2020. Boasting superhuman feats of athleticism and an optimal frame at 6-foot-3, he’s bound to be an NHL starting goaltender. However, it took a move to San Jose to get there. Askarov is the most likely of this bunch to have a Dustin Wolf-like breakthrough, as he’ll likely split the crease equally with Alex Nedeljkovic, who was acquired this off-season from the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins]. The real question isn’t whether he’s ready for NHL minutes, but more so whether he can handle just how defensively poor the San Jose Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks] will be as they continue to build for the future. 'It Was A Special First Year': Yaroslav Askarov Thankful For Former Sharks Goalie [https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/MjEyNzQyNTY4MzY1MDA4Mzkz/hs_sharks_vs_lightning_4075.jpg] 'It Was A Special First Year': Yaroslav Askarov Thankful For Former Sharks Goalie When Yaroslav Askarov came to North America, he was partnered with former San Jose Sharks goalie Devin Cooley on the Milwaukee Admirals. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/it-was-a-special-first-year-yaroslav-askarov-thankful-for-former-sharks-goalie] JESPER WALLSTEDT, MINNESOTA WILD If you haven’t been paying attention to Jesper Wallstedt this past season, it’s likely for the best. A season plagued by inconsistency and injury led to the 2021 20th overall pick cementing the worst season of his professional career, recording an .879 save percentage over 27 games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild [https://thn.com/ahl]. This regression [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/latest-news/it-was-like-i-hadnt-played-hockey-before-jesper-wallstedt-opens-up-after-recent-struggles] certainly wasn’t what GM Bill Guerin and the Minnesota Wild [https://thn.com/minnesota] were expecting from him after extending him earlier that season to a deal worth $4.4 million total through 2026-27. With the two-year contract extension kicking in this season, and with Marc-Andre Fleury retiring, the team has little choice but to play him so they don’t bury over $1 million in the minors. Given his struggles last season, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get sheltered minutes to start the year, with the bigger games going to Filip Gustavsson, in the hopes Wallstedt gets back into top shape and confidence. However, playing behind a more structured team, such as Minnesota, might just be what he needs to get back to the form scouts, pundits and fans alike were praising just a year ago. LEEVI MERILAINEN, OTTAWA SENATORS Leevi Merilainen’s rise through the Senators’ depth chart has been seismic. He went from a relative unknown in his draft year to a Liiga [https://thehockeynews.com/international] starter by 20. As of last season, the 22-year-old was able to shut down top teams when called up as the Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators] faced injuries to goaltenders Linus Ullmark and Anton Forsberg. He recorded an 8-3-1 record, 1.99 goals-against average and .925 save percentage in 12 games. With Forsberg heading to the Los Angeles Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] in free agency, Merilainen will have the opportunity [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/ottawa-senators-sign-goaltender-leevi-merilainen-to-new-one-way-contract] to get those guaranteed minutes. If he can continue to suppress the high-flying offenses of playoff teams in 2025-26, he may finish the season with a workload closer to a tandem goaltender than a backup. JET GREAVES, COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS When undrafted six-foot goaltender Jet Greaves was called up to the Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets] for nine games in 2023-24, fans were pleasantly surprised that the underdog put up a respectable .908 save percentage despite a 3-6-0 record. Greaves’ [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/columbus-blue-jackets/latest-news/73-days-until-opening-night-at-nationwide-arena-jet-greaves] 11-game stint in 2024-25, when he went 7-2-2 while posting a .938 SP, 1.91 GAA and two shutouts, showed there might actually be something there. The Blue Jackets decided to give the kid from Cambridge, Ont., a shot, as he’ll look to back up six-year NHL veteran Elvis Merzlikins. With Merzlikins only averaging an .890 save percentage over the past three seasons, Greaves’ role may expand throughout the season if he continues to perform well. Could The Penguins' Arturs Silovs Become The Next Dominik Hasek? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/29f5c91a-885a-46d8-8bb6-17a63de0af23.webp] Could The Penguins' Arturs Silovs Become The Next Dominik Hasek? How's that for a headline, eh? When the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks">Vancouver Canucks</a> <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/vancouver-canucks-trade-goaltender-arturs-silovs-to-the-pittsburgh-penguins">traded 24-year-old Arturs Silovs</a> to the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> on Sunday for a fourth-round pick and a middling prospect in Chase Stillman, they did so with their fingers crossed that he won't make them look ridiculous. [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/could-the-penguins-arturs-silovs-become-the-next-dominik-hasek] ARTURS SILOVS, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Arturs Silovs’ 2024-25 season was as up and down as they come. Across 10 games with the Vancouver Canucks [https://thn.com/vancouver], he looked far from NHL-ready, sporting a dismal .861 save percentage with a 2-6-1 record. In the AHL, however, the playoff MVP led the Abbotsford Canucks to a Calder Cup win with a .931 save percentage across 24 games. A move to the Pittsburgh Penguins has opened up another opportunity for NHL minutes, but it won't come easily. Silovs will have to battle 2020 second-round pick Joel Blomqvist for those backup minutes behind Tristan Jarry. The edge should go to Silovs. While Blomqvist’s .885 SP over 15 games last season was better, Silovs would have to pass through waivers if the Penguins want to assign him to the AHL, while Blomqvist wouldn’t. Given the added stakes of being waiver-eligible for the first time, this is a make-or-break season for Silovs on whether the 25-year-old netminder can finally put it all together and become an NHL regular. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
