BOSTON — Mikhail Yegorov stretched his arms toward the rafters and waited for his Boston University teammates to mob him in celebration.
The Russian goaltender has had plenty of brag-worthy performances in his young career, but this sat near the top.
Forget the fact that he stopped 28 of Cornell’s 29 shots en route to a 2-1 victory his team desperately needed. The Devils’ 2024 second-round pick did so on the biggest stage in the sport — Madison Square Garden, which happens to be the home venue of his NHL team’s biggest rival
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The Devils hope this is a preview of what is to come. At 22-18-2 and as one of the league’s lowest-scoring teams, their team-wide save percentage (.899) highlights the need for a standout goalie. But it also has continued a troubling trend: The Devils have endured a decade of ineptitude behind the pipes and their lack of a game-changing goalie has contributed to only three playoff appearances in the last 13 years.
Is Yegorov the cure?
NJ Advance Media spoke with people close to Yegorov — who ranks fourth among Daily Faceoff’s NHL goalie prospect rankings — to answer that question and more.
“(Yegorov will) be great,” Boston University coach Jay Pandolfo, who played 13 seasons for the Devils, told NJ Advance Media. “He has the skillset, he has the mindset to, at some point, lead the Devils that way. With the rich history of goaltending there, hopefully Big Mike will find his way and lead the Devils.”
‘HAPPIEST GUY ON EARTH’
New Jersey has started 19 different goalies since the legendary Martin Brodeur left the team in 2014. That number doesn’t even include Corey Crawford, who signed a two-year $7.8 million contract with the team in 2020, but never played a game. In 2021-22, they spun a carousel of seven different starting goaltenders.
Even in 2023, when the Devils reached the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, they were forced to shuffle between Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid.
Management thought it found stability when it traded for Jacob Markstrom, 35, in 2024, but he’s posted an .895 save percentage in his first two seasons in New Jersey. He’s signed through 2028 after agreeing to a two-year, $12 million extension this season.
All the while, New Jersey has watched many of its former goalies — Logan Thompson, Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood — thrive after leaving the organization. Suffice to say, the Devils’ goalie room has been cursed.
The Devils hope that Yegorov — who has been described as the “happiest guy on planet Earth” by his teammates — is eventually the answer.
“He’s a kid that we have a lot of aspirations for, but he’s still a young guy,” Brodeur, the Devils’ executive vice president of hockey operations, told NJ Advance Media. “The ‘bounce back game,’ you see that a lot in goalies — how they respond to a tough game. Every time he lays an egg somewhere, he comes back with a really good performance… (He’s) an awesome thing to have for our organization.”
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Yegorov is only 19 and in his second season at Boston University. Even if he turned pro next season, he would likely need to spend a year or two in the American Hockey League before reaching the NHL. Goalies take time to develop and the jump from college to the AHL is a big one — which is to say nothing of how difficult it is to play in the NHL.
Scouts and executives rave about Yegorov’s maturity, mental toughness and loyalty.
The Devils approached him halfway through year one of his stint in the USHL with the Omaha Lancers — who won 16 of 62 games in two seasons and iced 15 skaters at one point — about playing on a better team.
Yegorov, then 17, rejected them.
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“I’m not used to jumping teams and finding a better situation as soon as something is bad,” Yegorov told NJ Advance Media on our “Speaking of the Devils” YouTube show from Boston University. “Even in that situation, I can still learn, I can still build confidence. … I didn’t feel like switching as soon as things weren’t going the right way.”
When Yegorov finally joined BU, he immediately showed why the Devils made him the No. 49 pick in 2024. Yegorov won five of his first nine NCAA games, including two wins that helped the Terriers win their 32nd Beanpot, a four-team tournament between Boston’s top college hockey teams (BU, Boston College, Northeastern, Harvard). He posted a.972 save percentage in the tournament (stopping 69 of 71 shots).
The future was looking exceedingly bright for Yegorov. He was a top goalie prospect for a team that badly needed a long-term answer. He was delivering in big games. He even generated some trade buzz.
“His name came up at the trade deadline and we know we have a good one there,” general manager Tom Fitzgerald said via NHL.com. “The thing about goaltending is you just don’t know when they’re going to arrive, but he’s got a great personality. He loves the game and he’s good … that’s exciting.”
Then came this season. Yegorov has cooled down since his meteoric rise in 2024-25. He is 9-7-1 with an .892 save percentage and a 3.23 goals-against average.
Was last season just a mirage? Should the Devils be concerned about his performance? Apparently, it’s not that simple.
Three people close to Yegorov and BU’s hockey program insisted to NJ Advance Media that the 19-year-old’s struggles can be attributed to the team’s inexperienced defense. The team is icing 12 freshmen this season, four of whom are on the blueline.
“There’s a few different factors (that explain Yegorov’s stats),” Pandolfo said. “We haven’t played great in front of him. We’re giving up way too many quality chances.
“The other thing is, Big Mike came in last year and didn’t really know what to expect. He was just excited to be here and just focusing on stopping whatever shot he was gonna face. I think this year, he comes in after he accomplished what he did last year and the expectations are higher. He’s putting more pressure on himself. He’s putting too much pressure on himself early on.”
Bottom line: Neither BU nor the Devils are worried about his play — which has been much better of late. They still expect him to become a factor in the NHL for years to come.
But when?
“The plan was, in two years from now, for him to get out of there,” Brodeur said. “But who knows? He loves school, he loves all that stuff. We’re not in a rush. We don’t want to rush him. … He’s committed to take his time.”
GOALIE OF THE FUTURE
Goalies are a unique breed. That much is clear across locker rooms in the NHL.
Some goalies are more reserved — like Connor Hellebuyck, who has called his style of play and personality “boring.” Others, like Marc-Andre Fleury, had a larger-than-life personality in the locker room.
Yegorov, a Russia native who speaks fluent English, certainly fits the Fleury mold.
Need proof? Just ask him what the “key to happiness” is.
“Oooooh,” Yegorov said with a huge grin, before nearly falling back in his chair. “That will not be a short answer.”
He then took a pause. “Oh my god,” he said, his smile stretching even wider.
“Love,” Yegorov added. “Love, I would say, is happiness. If you are loved and if you love the thing that you and people around you, you will be happy for sure. So, yeah, I think love is the key to everything. It doesn’t matter if it’s to a human or not: It’s just love.”
The outgoing personality shone through when he talked about a Homeland Security class in 2024-25, when classmates questioned if he was a Russian spy.
“I cannot disclose that information,” Yegorov said with a laugh and a nod.
Yegorov’s fun-loving outlook has been a sparkplug for BU’s program, which is 9-8-1. He often mimes team photographers trying to take pictures of him at practice, and he’s never shy about running his mouth.
When it’s time for business, though, Yegorov is as serious as it comes.
“‘Yegs’ is the happiest guy on planet Earth,” BU defenseman Cole Hutson said via NHL.com. “He loves to have fun, chirps the guys and, in practice, is extremely hard on himself. That’s a big quality of his … how upset he gets with himself after letting in a goal. He sets himself to such a high standard.”
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