Toronto Maple Leafs have their own Linus Ullmark in goaltender Artur Akhtyamov

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Tyler Ball
June 26, 2024 (1:44 PM)

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Today reports have confirmed that the Leafs are bringing over top goalie prospect Artur Akhtyamov and since the news broke he is being compared to former Vezina winner Linus Ullmark.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been looking for stability and talent at the goaltending position for several seasons. Today one of their top goalie prospects Artur Akhtyamov has confirmed he is coming to play for the Maple Leafs organization next season.

Hearing #LeafsForever prospect Artur Akhtyamov will leave Ak Bars and continue his career in the Toronto system.

At 22 years old Artur Ahktyamov comes over to North America after a successful season split between Russia's top league the KHL and their second division the VHL. He has developed at a steady pace since being drafted in 2020 and is now drawing comparisons to a former Vezina Trophy winner.

Maple Leafs prospect Artur Ahktyamov could be the next Linus Ullmark

Since the news emerged that Artur Ahktyamov is coming over to North America analysis of his game has begun. One perspective comes from hockey analytics expert Byron Bader who created a model to project players into the NHL. According to his model at the moment Artur Ahktyamov projects to be similar to Linus Ullmark.

Akhtyamov is trending mighty nice, Toronto. Might have one here.

If Linus Ullmark is the comparable that still provides a wide range of outcomes. With the Buffalo Sabres, he did not find much success and was a fringe number one goalie. Then with the Boston Bruins, he won a Vezina Trophy before being relegated to the backup. Now he heads to the Ottawa Senators after the big trade a couple of days ago.

TRADE ALERT: The #Sens have acquired G Linus Ullmark from @NHLBruins in exchange for (Boston's original) '24 first-round draft pick (no. 25 overall), C Mark Kastelic and G Joonas Korpisalo. As part of the transaction, the #Sens will retain 25% of Korpisalo's remaining salary.

For Artur Ahktyamov it will be interesting to see if he follows a similar career path. Despite his impressive play in the KHL the young goalie will likely start in the AHL and find his footing but could see a game or two of NHL time if he starts out well down there.

Only time will truly be able to tell if Artur Ahktyamov is the missing piece in net that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been desperately searching for.