Oilers Expected to Sign KHL Goalie Prospect Ilya Konovalov

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | Last updated 4/30/21

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 22-year old goalie Ilya Konovalov has decided to pursue his career in North America. Reports surfacing on Friday suggest that insiders expect him to sign contract with Edmonton Oilers in a few days. He was drafted 85-th overall in 2019 NHL draft. Konovalov had a 48-40-9 record in three seasons in he KHL with a .930, .912 and .923 SV% respectively.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 22-year old goalie Ilya Konovalov decided to pursue his career in North America. Expect him to sign contract with Edmonton Oilers in a few days. He was drafted 85-th overall in 2019 NHL draft #LetsGoOilers #nhl #khl @SportsnetSpec
— Mikhail Zislis (@MikhailZislis) April 30, 2021

If the signing does happen, this will give the Oilers Stuart Skinner, Olivier Rodrigue and Konovalov in their system and three solid goalie prospects via the draft. The last time the Oilers have really had a strong goalie prospect come out of the draft was when the team selected Devan Dubnyk in 2004.

Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic writes, “The Oilers were hoping to get Konovalov in their system after this season.” It looks like their plan is coming into fruition.

The KHL is a professional league, and the fact that Konovalov has performed well bodes well for him getting a serious look in the not-too distant future by the Oilers. Some have made a comparison in his style of play, build and athleticism to Anton Khudobin.

Konovalov is an interesting prospect in part because of his age; he was drafted in the 2019 NHL Draft in the third round at age 21. He was certainly older than the most goalie prospects at that time and some wondered if taking an over-ager at that point in the draft was a risk. Oilers finds are likely to find out.

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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