Colorado Avalanche: Top 5 Goalies at the 2018 Draft

Amir Miftakhov

2017-18 Team: Irbis Kazan, MHL
Date of Birth: Apr. 26, 2000 (18 years old)
Ht: 6’0″
Wt: 159lbs.
Catches: Left

Ranked #3 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Goalies)

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Amir Miftakhov is a goalie that’s considered an up and comer. He’s small, but he’s known for being feisty. Brett Slawson calls him a “relative unknown” who’s “continued to impress and develop throughout the 2017-18 campaign.” Slawson further describes Miftakhov as an “impenetrable force” who “offers little opportunity for opposing shooters and is quick to deny any and all well-placed shots owing to his quick reflexes. ”

Steve Kournianos is also impressed with Miftakhov’s reflexes, calling them impressive. The scout considers Amir to be smart who’s also an able puck-tracker. Here are some interesting observations about the Russian:

"“The quickness of his pads, when combined with the positioning of both his blocker and glove hands, fools shooters into thinking they have a chance at beating him in conventional net targets. There’s… a controlled violence about the way he not only stops pucks, but resets or recovers from initial chances around the net.”"

That is a fascinating way to describe a goalie’s movements. Kournianos also observes that Amir Miftakhov is capable of facing “a barrage of successive shot attempts” with aplomb.

Bill Placzek is also impressed with Miftakhov’s unflappability, calling him “focused” and “patient,” further observing that “Traffic in front doesn’t rattle him.”

The Draftsite has Miftakhov going in the third round. However, I wouldn’t mind seeing Colorado pick him up in a later round if he’s still available. The Avalanche do love their unflappable Russian goalies who don’t mind facing a lot of shots.

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The 2018 NHL Draft takes place on June 22-23 in Dallas.