Penguins goalie prospect Sergei Murashov is having a dominant season in the MHL, the Russian junior league.
Murashov, the Penguins' 18-year-old fourth-round pick in last summer's draft, plays in the club Lokomotiv's system and is the MHL's top goaltender in every statistical category. He leads the league in save percentage (.955), goals-against average (1.39), and shutouts (8) in his 26 games this season.
Two of those shutouts came in back-to-back games this past week, stopping 24 shots in a game on Tuesday and then 23 shots two nights later.
A shutout streak like that isn't exactly new for Murashov this season. In the month of October he posted a shutout streak just shy of 244 minutes, a streak that ranks in the top 10 in MHL history.
Last month Murashov got called up to the KHL -- the top Russian men's league -- for a handful of games but only dressed as the backup. He didn't get into any games that time, but it was clear that he wouldn't have to wait much longer for his KHL debut.
He didn't even have to wait a full month. Lokomotiv recalled Murashov again this week -- straight from the MHL, skipping the Russian minor-league VHL -- and dressed him in their next game.
Murashov stopped 18 of 19 shots faced that game to earn the win in his KHL debut.
Goaltending is without a doubt the deepest area of the Penguins' prospect pool, a group that includes Murashov, Joel Blomqvist, Filip Lindberg and Taylor Gauthier. Murashov might just be the brightest of the bunch.
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Here's how the Penguins' other prospects in junior, college, and Europe did this week:
FORWARDS
Tristan Broz
Position: Center/wing
Size: 6-0/178
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, second round
Age: 20
Team: Denver (NCAA)
Season totals: 20 games, 5 goals, 8 assists
Broz scored two goals and four assists in two games, by far his most productive weekend since joining Denver this season:
Judd Caulfield
Position: Right wing
Size: 6-4/212
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, fifth round
Age: 21
Team: North Dakota (NCAA)
Season totals: 19 games, 7 goals, 2 assists
North Dakota was on holiday break this week.
Luke Devlin
Position: Center
Size: 6-2/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2022, sixth round
Age: 18
Team: West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)
Season totals: 26 games, 4 goals, 14 assists
Devlin added two assists in two games this week.
Zam Plante
Position: Center
Size: 5-9/161
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2022, fifth round
Age: 18
Team: Chicago Steel (USHL)
Season totals: 12 games, 3 goal, 8 assists
Plante scored two goals and three assists in two games this week:
Kirill Tankov
Position: Center
Size: 6-1/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 20
Team: SKA-Neva (VHL)
Season totals: 1 game
Tankov suffered a season-ending neck injury in the opening game of the season and required surgery to repair a fractured vertebrae. He is expected to be able to play next season and is no longer wearing a neck brace.
Chase Yoder
Position: Center
Size: 5-10/176
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2020, sixth round
Age: 20
Team: Providence (NCAA)
Season totals: 18 games, 5 goals, 6 assists
Providence was on holiday break this week.
DEFENSEMEN
Santeri Airola
Size: 5-11, 163
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Age: 22
Team: Ilves (Liiga), KOOVEE (Mestis)
Season totals: 5 games (Liiga), 18 games, 2 goals, 5 assists (Mestis)
Airola played two games in the second Finnish league and was scoreless.
Isaac Belliveau
Size: 6-2/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, fifth round
Age: 19
Team: Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
Season totals: 21 games, 4 goals, 19 assists
Belliveau scored a goal and three assists in two games.
One of his primary assists came after he forced a turnover:
Belliveau was named to the QMJHL Team of the Week for his efforts.
Nolan Collins
Size: 6-3/194
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2022, sixth round
Age: 18
Team: Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
Season totals: 24 games, 3 goals, 6 assists
Collins recorded an assist in three games this week.
Daniel Laatsch
Size: 6-5/183
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 20
Team: Wisconsin (NCAA)
Season totals: 18 games, 3 assists
Wisconsin was on holiday break this week.
Ryan McCleary
Size: 6-2/180
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 19
Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Season totals: 28 games, 6 goals, 8 assists
McCleary had a goal in two games this week. His goal was his second overtime-winner of the season:
Owen Pickering
Size: 6-4/180
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2022, first round
Age: 18
Team: Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
Season totals: 25 games, 5 goals, 14 assists
Pickering played in three games this week and had one goal and two assists.
GOALTENDERS
Joel Blomqvist
Size: 6-2/183
Catches: Left
Drafted: 2020, second round
Age: 20
Team: Karpat (Liiga)
Season totals: 21 games, 2.29 GAA, .907 SV%
Blomqvist played in two games this week. He stopped 19 of 20 shots faced in his first game. He stopped 16 of 17 shots in the first period of a game two nights later then didn't return for the second period with an injury. It's not clear what the injury is but an opponent did collide with him in the first period.
Sergei Murashov
Size: 6-0/167
Catches: Right
Drafted: 2022, fourth round
Age: 18
Team: Loko Yaroslavl (MHL), Lokomotiv (KHL)
Season totals: 24 games, 1.52 GAA, .952 SV%, 8 shutouts (MHL), 1 game, 1.00 GAA, .947 SV% (KHL)
Murashov had back-to-back shutouts in the MHL this week then got a win in his KHL debut
In the System, by Taylor Haase, appears Tuesdays on DK Pittsburgh Sports. Find previous editions.
