Washington Capitals: Ilya Samsonov ready to learn
By Ron Juckett
The Washington Capitals waited patiently for top prospect Ilya Samsonov to come west. Meet the Caps potential goalie of the future.
The Washington Capitals will keep a close eye on Hershey Bears goaltender Ilya Samsonov this season.
Samsonov, the first-round Caps draft pick in 2015, will play in North America for the first time on a pro team after four years in the Kontinental Hockey League. At 21, he will be the Bears primary goalie. He comes to the United States with a four-year entry-level contract.
With the Metallurg Magnitogorsk of KHL, Samsonov turned heads. In 2016, the Magnitogorsk won the Gagarin Cup, the KHL equal to the Stanley Cup. Appearing in six of the seven games, he was 2-2 with a healthy 2.28 GAA and .916 save percentage.
The next season, 2016-17, the Magnitogorsk returned to the finals but lost in five games to SKA Saint Petersburg and Ilya Kovalchuk. Samsonov played well. In three games, he allowed two goals over 93 minutes.
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Last year, Samsonov was the primary goalie for Russia at the World Junior Championships in Montreal and Toronto. He shut out Slovakia in group play and Denmark in the quarterfinals. The US beat Russia in the semis in a shootout. Russia beat Sweden in the Bronze Medal game.
Although he did not fly home with any personal honors last year, Samsonov won Best Goaltender in the U18 World Juniors in 215 and a Top 3 player medal. In 2016, he made the All-Star team and another Top 3 in Russia’s Silver-Medal effort in Finland.
On paper, the Caps have quite the catch in Samsonov.
A strong kid, weighing over 200 at six foot-three, this year is a teaching one. Never the number one goalie for Magnitogorsk, Samsonov will get his chance to win the job in Hershey.
However, at some point, he might hit the proverbial fatigue wall. KHL seasons run 56 games before the playoffs. The AHL has a 76-game schedule before a full four-round playoff. Samsonov, on top of everything else, will need to adjust to the longer campaign stretching well into spring.
The Gagarin Cup finishes in April. The Calder Cup runs into mid-June.
With Braden Holtby under contract two more years, the Caps hope Samsonov can make the big club for the 2019-20 season as a backup. Again, another teaching year at 22 for the goalie from Magnitogorsk, Russia.
Assuming Holtby signs an extension, Ilya Samsonov would have two more years to serve as the clipboard holder before hitting free agency himself. For the Washington Capitals, depending on the situation, then they can promote him to the top spot, trade or keep the status quo.
There are worse problems to have.