With their third pick at the 2019 NHL Draft, the Oilers stepped up and grabbed 20-year-old goaltender, Ilya Konovalov, from Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL. In 2018-19, Konovalov won the Rookie of the Year award for this past season, making him the first goaltender to do so since Andrei Vasilevskiy. While some folks were upset that the Oilers would draft another goalie with their third-round pick, Konovalov is a couple of years along in his development and already playing at a high level in the KHL.

Position: Goaltender– Catches: Left
Born: July 13th, 1998 — City: Yaroslavl, Russia
Height: 6 feet 0 inches — Weight: 194 lbs [88 kg]
Drafted: 85th overall
Major Junior: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl — League: MHL

Konovalov had a great season even as a fourth-year-eligible prospect. He was an above-average starting goalie in the KHL and is a player who will be looked to for the Russian national team in the future. He’s six-foot with good but not great athleticism, so I was initially quite skeptical. Konovalov’s hockey sense is outstanding, though, and won me over. His eyes seem magnetically attracted to the puck. He’s never fooled by reverse passes from behind the net, centering plays and stays in position even when the puck is bouncing around the crease. He has that very low panic threshold you want in a goalie. He may never make the spectacular diving save, but he often never needs to. His movements are quick and smooth enough that he squares up most pucks. -Corey Pronman, The Athletic

Konovalov has been passed over in the NHL Draft three times already but this season, as a 20-year-old, he’s been one of the best goalies in the KHL, and he’s still eligible for the 2019 NHL Draft for the final time before becoming a free agent. He doesn’t have the type of size teams are usually looking for in goalies but he’s quick and agile, isn’t afraid to leave the blue paint to challenge attackers, and he has a good glove as well. His situation is a bit similar to Veini Vehviläinen’s, another average-sized goalie who was also passed over thrice but finally got drafted after proving himself at the pro level. Konovalov will likely get drafted late in the draft, the same way Vehviläinen did, but if he has another strong season in the KHL, his stock will be rising very quickly. Don’t sleep on this guy. -Jokke Nevalainen, Dobber Prospects

With Konovalov, it is all about being a hard worker. While not being overly gifted, he had been showing progress year after year and was able to refine his technique to the level of setting some records in the KHL. It’s not easy to tell if there’s NHL starter potential here, as goalies are hard to predict, but with that kind of work and progress, I won’t be surprised if it is there. -Russian Prospect

Post Draft Interview:

Highlight pack from the 2018-19 season:

Single shot video of Konovalov’s positioning, something he’s been said to be working on every summer.