Ivan Prosvetov makes case for Flames' backup gig

CALGARY — Ivan Prosvetov didn’t think he’d get another shot in the NHL.

Nor was he necessarily looking for one.

But he sure found one in Calgary.

After playing small parts of four seasons with Arizona and Colorado, the 26-year-old netminder went back to Russia last season where he signed a three-year deal with his hometown CSKA.

Life was good, as he’d finally landed a successful starting gig on a storied franchise he’d grown up idolizing.

“Well, then there were trade talks,” said Prosvetov of a development that prompted him to get his agent to nix the final two seasons of a three-year deal.

“I didn't want to get traded because it was probably only one of the teams I always wanted to be on. It’s my hometown and it's CSKA. (Vladislav) Tretiak played for that team, (Boris) Mikhailov, (Sergei) Fedorov, (Valeri) Kharlamov, you can name it. 

“I was basically in Tretiak’s spot there, right? So, it's pretty special to play on that team.”

“But when trade talks came my agent did a good job and it was an opportunity here.”

Calgary Flames goalie guru Jordan Sigalet expressed immediate interest in the athletic, 6-foot-5 goalie who he’d been watching closely the last five years.

Several other NHL and Russian teams also tried signing the lad with a 2.32 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in the KHL, but the opportunity that had opened up in Calgary with Dan Vladar’s departure this summer made it an easy decision.

Either Prosvetov or Wranglers all-star Devin Cooley will have a chance to start upwards of 20 games this season as Dustin Wolf’s backup.

On Wednesday it was Prosvetov’s turn to state his case, starting behind a skeleton Flames squad in Abbotsford against the Canucks.

Despite being on the short end of a 3-1 score, Prosvetov was a stabilizing force who finished the evening stopping 28 shots in a game largely controlled by the hosts.

The Canucks scored two power-play goals and none of the shots that beat him could be blamed squarely on the Flames goalie, who was under siege early and often. 

A good showing, despite the result. 

“I don't think about battles and stuff, I just try to come play my game, show my game and never look too far ahead,” said the fourth-round pick of the Coyotes in 2018 who has only played 24 NHL games.

“I know that I can. I'm already kind of building my game that I don't want to change. I've been a starting goalie on one of the best teams in Russia, and played many games there (38). I think I'm a good goalie, and I have a lot to show.”

Earlier in the week, Round 1 of the goalie battle went to Prosvetov, who stopped 28 shots in a split-squad overtime win in Edmonton Sunday. Meanwhile, Cooley let in two suspect goals in a 3-0 loss at home.

Cooley will start Game 5 of the pre-season Saturday in Winnipeg and whoever appears to have wrangled the job will get one more start after that.

The other goalie will be placed on waivers for the purpose of being sent to the Wranglers — a tough decision given several teams around the league have expressed interest in both backups at times.

Both have one-way deals. 

“He’s just always been a big, raw, athletic guy,” said Sigalet of the 6-foot-5 Russian, who is the same height as Cooley.

“Almost like when we signed Vladar, if you adjust some things with depth and add a little more structure to his game you could see him turn into another guy like Dan.

“The talent is there, he’s just got to put it all together.”

And the window to do so is even smaller than his NHL sample size, which never saw him start more than 11 games in any given season.

“To be honest, I'm not looking at this like I'm here to kind of show myself, because I know I have it,” said Prosvetov.

“It's just, are people gonna see it here? I’m gonna continue my career here and it's gonna be awesome.”

Abbotsford notes  

Joel Farabee continued in his quest to prove his first half-season in Calgary wasn’t an accurate representation of his talents, picking up an assist on Connor Zary’s power-play goal and adding a fight against hulking Canucks journeyman Joseph LaBate. LaBate is 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, which is five inches taller and 39 pounds heavier than the Flames winger … Jake Bean left the game briefly in the third period after being crosschecked by Vilmer Alriksson, only to return minutes later … The Flames' next game is Saturday in Winnipeg.

The Lines 

Zary – Kerins - Pospisil
Farabee - Morton - Honzek 
Basha – Bishop – Hunt
Suniev – King - Laing

Hanley - Brzustewicz
Bean - Poirier 
Moran - Miromanov

Prosvetov 
Cooley