Sergei Murashov has arrived for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and probably much sooner than anybody could have reasonably expected. With the team going through an early season rash of injuries that now includes
Tristan Jarry, and Murashov continuing to dominate in the American Hockey League, he finds himself in the NHL as the latest Penguins prospect and rookie to eventually make their debut this season.
Of all the prospects currently in the Penguins system, Murashov is by far the biggest wild-card and perhaps the biggest potential franchise-changer (at least that was the case until Ben Kindel arrived) if he can reach his full ceiling.
Murashov’s potential is sky-high, but because he is a goalie, and because there is always an insanely wide range of potential outcomes with goalie prospects, it is nearly impossible to have any sort of realistic vision for what he will be.
You just have things to dream on.
He is extraordinarily athletic. He is very raw. He has only played 53 professional hockey games in North America between the AHL and ECHL.
While the overall experience is low, the results have been high. All he has done since arriving in the organization is stop pucks, win hockey games and excite everybody that has watched him.
Now he is here.
Whether he makes his debut on Thursday or a different game over the next few weeks, he is going to eventually play.
So with that said, let’s take a look back at every Penguins goalie prospect/rookie that has made their NHL debut going back to the start of the 2000 season and how they did in their debut game.
Keep in mind, this is not every goalie simply playing their first game for the Penguins (so no free agents or trades). This is simply goalies making their NHL debut in a Penguins uniform.
Here is the most recent list.
What this really is is a game of remember some guys.
Brad Theissen?
John Curry?
Alexander Pechurski!
Pechurski’s debut was never supposed to even happen. If you recall, the Penguins were dealing with some goaltending injury issues at the time, were out on the west coast, and Pechurski, a recent draft pick of the team, was playing for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League. They signed him to a PTO so he could serve as their emergency backup and was then forced into action because Curry allowed five goals in 25 minutes. He ended up stopping 12 of the 13 shots he faced and was named one of the stars of the game by the Canucks media relations people.
The most impactful and memorable debut here is undoubtedly Marc-Andre Fleury, even though it came in a 3-0 season-opening loss. He was absolutely sensational in that game, stopping 46 shots as a 19-year-old, including a penalty shot. Even though the Penguins were awful that season, and even though they played horribly in front of their teenage goalie that night, it was still an incredibly exciting night because you got an early taste of what Fleury’s career could be. You knew you had a goalie, even if it was more for the future.
The most surprising debut has to be Johan Hedberg’s. The 2000-01 season was Mario Lemieux’s comeback season, and it was pretty clear it made the Penguins a Stanley Cup contender again. Goaltending, however, was a big concern. Instead of making a move for a more established goalie, they went deep into the San Jose Sharks prospect pool and dug out Hedberg in a trade for Jeff Norton.
Hedberg arrived in Pittsburgh still wearing his blue Manitoba Moose mask, was outstanding in limited action in the regular season, and then backstopped the Penguins to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance against the New Jersey Devils. He ended up playing a couple of years in Pittsburgh, was a fan favorite, and was eventually traded for a second-round draft pick. That draft pick turned out to be Alex Goligoski, continuing a trade chain that would eventually result in the Penguins getting Patric Hornqvist and a couple of Stanley Cup rings more than a decade later. This is why remember some guys is fun.
Between Fleury, Matt Murray and Jeff Zatkoff there are three goalies on this list that won Stanley Cup rings (and contributed to those championships) with the Penguins, while Jarry, for all of his flaws, has played a decade in the NHL and appeared in two All-Star games.
What is ahead for Murashov remains to be seen. That journey is about to begin.
