UConn commit Arsenii Sergeev selected in the 7th round of NHL Draft by Calgary Flames

With the 13th pick in the seventh round (No. 205 overall), the Calgary Flames selected UConn commit Arsenii Sergeev, a goaltender from Yaroslavl, Russia. This is the ninth consecutive year a Husky has been taken in the NHL Draft and the second straight year the Flames selected one after they took Yan Kuznetsov in the second round of the 2020 draft.

Sergeev will come to UConn ahead of the 2022-23 season. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound net-minder currently plays for the Shreveport Mudbugs of the NAHL where last season, he posted a 2.17 goals against average and .936 save percentage in 20 games. A source described him as a goaltender with “super high-end” athleticism who has a similar size and style of play as Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Sergeev is the 19th Husky taken in the NHL Draft and the third goaltender along with Adam Huska (2015 seventh round, New York Rangers) and Tomas Vomacka (2017 fifth round, Nashville Predators). UConn’s 2021-22 roster will feature seven draft picks in total.

UConn forward Sasha Teleguine and goaltender Logan Terness both went undrafted despite speculation they could be taken in a later round. Two other freshmen, Chase Bradley (Detroit Red Wings) and Ryan Tverberg (Toronto Maple Leafs), were both selected in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Unlike the MLB, NBA, or NFL drafts, most players do not immediately join their new teams. Instead, organizations hold a drafted player’s rights for three years and can sign the player to a contract anytime before then.