Analysis: Chicago Blackhawks goaltending assessment

Arvid Soderblom

The great mystery of Arvid Soderblom. The first word that comes to mind when thinking of Soderblom is “enigma.” It is a cliché term, but he truly fits that mold for me.

He came over from Europe with not much of a reputation, much like Stanislav Berezhnoy, to play in the AHL or ECHL. That season, he played very well in Rockford, one of the best goalie seasons with the IceHogs in recent memory.

His first year in the NHL, he looked relatively strong on a very bad team. The Blackhawks finished 18-49-7 and he finished with only two wins and a .894 save percentage in all situations. The numbers were not anything to get excited about, but you could see flashes of talent. This was great for a player that Bowman poached from Sweden for free.

One of my favorite theories about goalies is “wait until the entire league has seen you once through before you start your judgments.” They will have seen film and probably faced you at least once. The surprise is gone. That is the epitome of NHL year two for Soderblom, a disaster.

The team was, somehow, worse than the previous year with a modern-era team-low 52 points, and Soderblom could not stop a thing. He went from 15 games played to 33, and his stats were abysmal — five wins and an .880 save percentage in all situations. The drop of .014 might not seem like a lot, but I can assure you it is considerable.

Which Soderblom was he? The serviceable backup or the sieve that was a huge liability?

The answer is somewhere in the middle, as it turns out. He jumped back up to a .898 save percentage last season, but this year he is back down again, this time into the sub .870 range with only two regular-ish goaltenders below him (Leevi Meriläinen and Samuel Ersson).

I will expound on this later, but when the entire team started hot, I was hoping he would remain warm, and some team would take a chance on a big 26-year-old Swedish netminder. He has torn that up and made confetti.

The salary is not an issue, but the term is. Chicago is on the hook for one more season, with Drew Commesso just about ready to start seeing NHL duty, Berezhnoy surprising people in the AHL and Adam Gajan playing well at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, which earned him a trip to Italy with the Slovakian Olympic Team.

Davidson might just need to put him through waivers, bury a chunk of his salary and let him be the guy in Rockford next season. It looks as though his time wearing a Blackhawks uniform is coming to a close.

Drew Commesso

Commesso came with some pretty high praise after the Blackhawks selected him in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He had a very impressive season with the U.S. National Team Development Program, which he parlayed into a very respectable career at Boston University, including two games with the U.S. Olympic Team in 2023, one of which a shutout.

His professional career has not exactly started off with bells and whistles, but he has put up respectable numbers. Over parts of four AHL seasons, he has a .909 save percentage in the regular season and .922 in the playoffs. It is time for the Blachawks to take his training wheels off and see what this kid has.

What can you expect from him? Think “Corey Crawford-ish.” He will not “wow” you, but he is consistent. The Blackhawks need more consistency.

Granted, I would not expect him to unseat Knight, but what a one-two punch they could have for the next 5-6 seasons.

Stanislav Berezhnoy

It has only been 10 games into his AHL career, but Berezhnoy has made fans notice his play. Several highlight saves have made their rounds on the internet that should have the fans raising their eyebrows.

Despite not speaking a lick of English, Davidson signed the 6-foot-4, 218-pound Berezhnoy out of the Russian VHL in July to potentially play in Rockford or with the Indy Fuel. He earned a spot backing up Commesso in Rockford and has done an admirable job despite injuries taking a toll on his season.

Stats will not tell you the story of his season, as they are pretty pedestrian. He has gone 5-4-1 with a .898 save percentage in all situations, which ranks him 10th among rookie AHL goaltenders. He started off red hot in his first three games, then had a below-average November and missed most of December. Considering the recent play of Soderblom and the success of Commesso, Berezhnoy could see some more time in Rockford down the stretch. His most recent performance was an impressive 31-save, 3-1 win against the division-leading Grand Rapids Griffins.

By no means am I proclaiming any great huge results, but he is a big goaltender who is very athletic, especially for his size. If he can continue to develop at only 22 years old, he could be another sneaky good signing by the Blackhawks.

Adam Gajan

Gajan has been one of my favorite goaltending prospects in recent memory. The good and bad of playing in leagues like the USHL are that you can somewhat avoid the spotlight, but players only really have basic stats to be judged on.

This is what happened when Gajan played his D+1 season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. For those not aware, the USHL is a league notorious for not supporting the defensive end of the ice, so the average 8.66 goals per game were scored — not ideal for a goaltender looking to impress.

Davidson picked Gajan in the now-famous Connor Bedard 2023 NHL Draft in the second round (35th overall). He was also the first goaltender picked in that draft, ahead of netminders like Detroit Red Wings prospect Trey Augustine and Montreal Canadiens rookie Jacob Fowler.

Following his adventure in Green Bay, he committed to play at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Truth be told, his first year was not eye-opening. He played 21 games as the primary starter and posted a 7-15-1 record with a .885 save percentage in all situations as a 20-year-old freshman.

As a sophomore, he has cemented his spot as the primary starter for the Bulldogs with a current 15-7-0 record and a .911 save percentage. This was impressive enough to earn Gajan an invite to travel to Milan Cortina with Team Slovakia.

He is another big goaltender (notice the trend here) at 6-foot-3 and 187 pounds, and is known for his extreme flexibility. He regularly goes into full splits to make saves, which can often show up on highlight reels.

If Blackhawks fans can be patient with him, and the organization puts the time into development, Gajan could end up the best goalie in the system.

Ilya Kanarsky

This is a name that not many Blackhawks fans will be familiar with, just yet. Davidson took the 6-foot-2, 192-pound 21-year-old this summer in the seventh round of the 2025 NHL Draft. He has been playing Russian professional hockey, first in the MHL/NMHL, then in the VHL, since 2021.

Ilya Kanarsky comes from a hockey family, as his father, Pavel Kanarsky, was a defenseman in the Russian leagues from 2006 until 2017. His younger brother, Yan Kanarsky, is also a defenseman in the Russian MHL.

His stats are pretty gaudy, but keep in mind that he was drafted in his D+2 season, which means he went undrafted in two previous years of eligibility. Individually, he has a 7-13-8 record with a .925 save percentage. Without context, that sounds sensational, but the VHL is a strong goalie league. He is ranked 29th overall in save percentage. There are 59 goalies who have played 10 games or more who have save percentages over .900.

Playing with AKM Tula Region, Kanarsky is the primary starter despite being the youngest goaltender on the team. His team, unfortunately, is 21st out of 32 teams in the standings.

I would not expect much from this player, but stranger things have happened. He could be a candidate for Indy or Rockford should he choose to pursue North America, but his chances of showing up in a Blackhawks sweater are low.