Best KHL Goaltenders of All Time: Top 5

The hackneyed hockey expression says that the goaltender is half the team. But if we apply this analogy to the KHL, it is, of course, more “goaltending” than the NHL. This is due both to the large arena and to the reasonable conservatism of the coaches, who prefer hockey for results, sacrificing entertainment. As a result, even a very average team in terms of performers can reach the playoffs only on the work of a goalkeeper. In this ranking, the one with the most wins is considered the best. Because even if you have 60 parried shots, this often does not mean that you are cool, but that the opponent throws a lot. Let’s take a look at the top 5 best KHL goaltenders of all time!

Hockey is an unpredictable game, and this applies not only to team results. It is not so often possible to predict before the season which hockey player will light up in the next championship. And this is especially true for goalkeepers, with their special mental organization and role in the team. 

Best KHL Goaltenders of All Time: Konstantin Barulin

Konstantin Barulin is another bright Russian goalkeeper, about whom you can write a whole book, and it will not be boring on any page. Konstantin could rightfully defend the colors of a completely different flag. He was born and raised in Karaganda, which is why he is often proudly called “a pupil of Kazakhstan hockey”. At the age of 18, he first went on the ice in a professional team, and it was the Tyumen Gazovik.

With this great team remaining in the shadow of Russian hockey stars but giving him so many great players, Barulin will have many more iconic victories to come. In the KHL, he made his debut in CSKA and immediately proved to be excellent. The percentage is above 90, 24 wins in 41 matches. But all the “finest hour” fell on the performance for the suburban “Atlant” and the Russian team. Also the whole set of the World Cup!

Best KHL Goaltenders of All Time: Vasily Koshechkin

Vasily Koshechkin is one of the brightest hockey players. He began his journey at the highest level of Russian championships even before the formation of the KHL. But it would be simply ridiculous not to include this player in the list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKPiI5O1Gvc

Despite his completely non-Ural origin, he became one of the most beloved by the fans of the hockey players of Magnitogorsk Metallurg, perhaps second only to Mozyakin. However, few people remember that Vasily defended the colors of Cherepovets Severstal for quite a long time and quite successfully. And its fans recognized the goalkeeper as the best in their team.

Since 2011, Koshechkin has been back in Magnitogorsk, and it seems that neither the athlete nor the team regretted this decision. At the international level, Vasily is in perfect order. The whole set of awards of the world championships and the gold medal of the Olympics is on the shelf – isn’t that cool?  Learn more about How to Bet on Ice Hockey before visiting the 1xBET Sportsbook. And get ready to make real money on the online gambling sites in Russia.

Symbol of the Moscow “Dynamo” – Alexander Eremenko

Eremenko reached his peak at an age when many are already thinking about ending their careers – in their forties. Two titles of the most valuable player of the Gagarin Cup in the KHL golden seasons for Dynamo speak for themselves. In terms of personal statistics, the last regular season, when he was almost 37, turned out to be the best for him. Eremenko has attracted various titles like a magnet before. But his role in the team has never been as significant as when he last came to his native club.

Alexander was not considered a goalkeeper of great natural talent and achieved everything through hard work, passing through cities such as Tver, Chelyabinsk, and Khabarovsk on the way to recognition before becoming the first in Dynamo. At the international level, he has not grown to a star. At the same time he has managed to win medals of all denominations from the world championships.

The Icon of “Avtomobilist”: Jakub Kovář

Jakub Kovař is simply impossible not to fall in love with. This goalkeeper is phenomenal, “breaking through” him is a serious achievement. In Russia in general, and the KHL in particular, he appeared quite recently, only in 2013, but immediately became the idol of Avtomobilist fans, showing decent reliability of 89.3%, and then it only grew from year to year. Jakub Kovarzh is a true legend of Avtomobilist. The Czech goalkeeper spent a magnificent 7 seasons in the club from Yekaterinburg, forever inscribing himself in the history of Sverdlovsk hockey.

Unfortunately, the ending of the story of Kovarzh and Avtomobilist turned out to be sad. The goalkeeper, who underwent knee surgery 11 months ago, had serious health problems again at the end of summer. And at the very start of the regular season, Yakub realized that he could not play hockey yet. And he asked the club to terminate the contract. Officially, Kovarzh left Avtomobilist on September 18, and the next day, before the Urals’ home game with CSKA, Yakub said goodbye to the club’s fans.

Best KHL Goaltenders of All Time: Stanislav Galimov

Stanislav Galimov was born in Chelyabinsk. The inhabitants of this city love hockey and understand it. The city of Chelyabinsk has a strong hockey school for children. The core team is replenished annually with new young talents. Some of them now play in the NHL and are the leaders of the national team. He managed to break into the second team of Traktor quite early, which played in the First League of the Russian championship. During his three years there, he played 22 games. The first team showed no interest in Galimov, so he decided to leave his hometown.

In 2006, it became known that Stanislav Galimov signed a contract with Kazan’s Ak Bars. But then he had not yet gained enough experience to become the main goalkeeper of such an eminent club. Therefore, he was sent to gain experience in the Almetyevsk “Neftyanik”. This team plays in the Major Hockey League. The Kazan club often sends players to Almetyevsk to gain experience there. 

In the 2007-2008 season, Stanislav Galimov began playing for Ak Bars Kazan. In the first half of the season, this goalkeeper played 10 games. But then Stanislav was not ready to play in the Super League playoffs, and he was again sent to play for the Neftyanik club. Since 2008, Stanislav Galimov has finally entrenched himself in the Ak Bars team. Indeed, this is one of the best hockey teams to bet on in online sportsbook sites in Russia. Galimov played 72 games in three years. During the time spent in Kazan, he twice became the owner of the Gagarin Cup. Read our article about Ice Hockey Betting Tips from Pros 2021 and make sure to bet in the 1xBET Sportsbook. 

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