UConn men’s hockey commit Arsenii Sergeev named USHL Goaltender of the Year

Incoming UConn men’s hockey commit Arsenii Sergeev earned USHL Goaltender of the Year honors after a stellar campaign with the Tri-City Storm.

“It is great to win the USHL’s Goaltender of the Year Award this season,” Sergeev said in a release. “This season was a great experience for me, and I am grateful to the organization, the coaches, and the team for the opportunity. I want to say thank you to my parents, friends, and coaches who have supported me this year.”

In 41 games, Sergeev went 30-6-2 with a 2.08 goals against average and .918 save percentage while collecting six shutouts — all of which were tops in the USHL. His 30 wins were a Storm franchise record, while his four USHL Goaltender of the Weeks honors led the league.

“We are proud of Arsenii and believe this award is well deserved,” Storm director of hockey operations and head coach Anthony Noreen said. “He consistently performed at an elite level for us all year. Also, he competed equally as hard for every save whether it was practice, a goalie session, or a game...Arsenii took every advantage of the development resources we have in Tri-City.”

Sergeev, a Yaroslavl, Russia native, committed to UConn in July 2021 and was selected by the Calgary Flames in the seventh round of the NHL Draft later that month. He’s an athletic goaltender who stands at 6-foot-3, 182 pounds with a similar style of play to Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sergeev will come to UConn this fall and is expected to compete for the starting job in goal with sophomore Logan Terness.

Ruslan Iskhakov signs with New York Islanders

Two years after leaving the program, former UConn forward Ruslan Iskhakov signed an entry-level contract with the New York Islanders last week. A 2018 second round pick of the team, Iskhakov’s rights expired on June 1.

The deal is for two seasons for with a $70k salary in the minors. He’ll likely be assigned to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders at the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

Iskhakov came to UConn out of Russia as part of the heralded 2018 class and remains one of the most skilled players to ever suit up for the Huskies thanks to his next-level puck-handling abilities. As a freshman, he missed a significant chunk of the season after suffering a concussion in the second game of the year but played a central role in the team’s turnaround in the final month and finished with six goals and 15 assists. However, Iskhakov disappointed as a sophomore with just nine goals and 12 assists in 32 games.

While he planned to return for his junior season, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Iskhakov to turn pro in order to help his family financially. He signed with TPS is Finland and totaled 10 goals and 28 assists in 54 games as a 20-year old. This past year, Iskhakov was limited to just 25 games with Alder Mannheim in Germany due to an injury.

Of the 12 players in UConn’s 2018 recruiting class, Iskhakov is the ninth to sign a professional contract in North America.