The Edmonton Oilers have lost some goaltending depth, with 23-year-old prospect Ilya Konovalov returning back to Europe for the 2022-23 campaign.
Konovalov is expected to sign a deal with Dynamo Moscow in the KHL for next season. He was named the league’s rookie of the year in 2019. Drafted 85th overall in 2019, Konovalov could return to the NHL at a later date, but appears as though he believes his best opportunity to get playing time will be to head back home. Konovaylov has an overall KHL record of 53-41-9 in 111 games over four seasons with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Konovalov, 23, spent this past season with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, recording a 5-7-5 record in 17 games as a backup to Stuart Skinner. The move is an interesting one, with Skinner expected to fight for an NHL job next season, thus putting Konovalov in a spot to contend for the starting role in the AHL.
The move should allow Olivier Rodrigue and Ryan Fanti to tend the crease in Bakersfield next year as the team looks to develop more long-term goaltending prospects.
