Author: Jean Rioux

By Jean-François Rioux 

X: @Rickyjf

Dmitri Ivchenko 

Omskie Yastreby, MHL

In this series, instead of simply pitching the goalie with the top numbers, I’ll highlight one goalie prospect who stood out to me in my viewings in the last month.

Dmitri Ivchenko is off to an excellent start this MHL season with the Omskie Yastreby. After three starts, he remains undefeated, boasting a 1.98 GAA and a .938 save percentage. His main strengths are immediately noticeable in every viewing :  a tall, powerful goaltender who moves with both speed and purpose. Yet, the more I watched him, the more I realized there’s something truly special about his game. That’s why he earns the spotlight this week.

Strengths

His speed and power through crease movements are undeniable. He pushes and slides effortlessly to beat passes and square up to plays on his feet. However, what stood out most was his ability to read the play and make intelligent, timely adjustments. He consistently recognized when to challenge on rushes and when to hold back and tilt his body to react to a pass. This level of play recognition, combined with his exceptional mobility, makes him extremely difficult to beat.

---

Weaknesses 

He needs to better utilize his 6-foot-4 frame to take command of his crease. At times, he becomes vulnerable on screens and net-front scrambles, struggling to maintain optimal positioning and upper-body structure to face shots or track pucks effectively from the point.

---

Projection & Potential

At this point in the season, Ivchenko has shown a skill set that should generate significant interest heading into the 2026 NHL Draft. His speed, athleticism, and play-reading ability are all highly valuable traits that project well to the next level. However, Ivchenko’s technical fundamentals and mechanics remain somewhat raw. He’ll need to refine and polish those areas as the season progresses, doing so could firmly place him among the first goaltenders selected in the draft.

 2025-20-09 Tri-City 3 @ Seattle 6 (WHL)

Skenlicka is a goalie with a strong combination of size and speed. Using his 6-foot-4 frame to his advantage, he positions himself well and stays on angle with the puck. His speed is impressive for a goalie of his size. His pushes are crisp, and he transitions smoothly from RVH or butterfly into set positioning. That skill allows him to recover quickly after shots or broken plays in front of him. While his crease work was impressive overall, two concerns stood out. First, I felt he could have been more aggressive in his positioning. At times, he stayed too deep in the blue paint rather than challenging shooters. Given his size, squareness, and recovery ability, he has the tools to play more assertively. Second, he struggled with rebound control on low shots, leaving too many loose pucks in dangerous areas. To his credit, his strong tracking often allowed him to cover those rebounds quickly. With his size, technique, and speed, Skenlicka is one of the most intriguing goalie prospects for the 2026 draft.

 2025-12-09 Pelicans 5 @ Ilves U20 4 SO (U20 Finland)

Poletin is a technically sound goalie who relies on positioning more than raw speed. He consistently stays on angle when tracking plays in the defensive zone and on rushes. He manages rebounds effectively, which limits the need for difficult recoveries. While his post-shot recoveries are technically well-executed, he lacks the explosiveness that could elevate his overall game. One area of concern is his upper-body work. His butterfly is tight and his low-shot tracking is strong, but he struggles more on high shots, especially glove side. His left hand tends to sit low and away from his body at knee height, which slows his reaction time. Poletin has many of the technical strengths to make him an intriguing 2026 draft option, but to rise in the rankings he will need to show more quickness and refine his tracking on higher shots.

 2025-19-09 Gatineau 5 @ Val-d’Or 3 (QMJHL)

Shaiikov, a DY+1 goalie prospect, was a player I was eager to watch since his arrival in North America, and he did not disappoint. His speed immediately stood out. Quick on his feet, he covers ground well within his crease, and in this viewing his recovery skills looked elite. His quickness allowed him to reset his angles after the first shot with ease. Shaiikov is also a very active goalie who likes to challenge shooters. His feet and hands are constantly moving, whether he is upright or in the butterfly. However, that aggressiveness and constant activity sometimes left him vulnerable, as he occasionally lost control of his angles and seals, leading to goals against. In my opinion, with consistency this year, he could generate interest from NHL scouts. With his speed and quickness, he has the tools to be a candidate as an overager for the 2026 draft.

 2025-19-09 Dynamo Moscow 1 @ MHK Spartak 3 (MHL)

Selivanov is a goalie who blends strong technique with athleticism. He generates excellent power on his pushes, allowing him to arrive on angle and challenge shooters effectively. He rarely sets up late or off-balance. His positioning and puck tracking are both excellent, and he follows pucks into his body closely, making him very difficult to beat without a screen or lateral movement. However, I noticed a decline in focus and consistency when defensive-zone sequences dragged on and fatigue set in. At that point, Selivanov began giving up more dangerous rebounds and looked less sharp on recoveries. That being said, his overall skill set is nearly complete, and he should be considered among the early favorites to top preliminary goalie lists for the 2026 NHL Draft.