If there's one area the Tucson Roadrunners coaching staff will be able to turn to this coming season for veteran leadership — no matter who is in the lineup — it appears to be in net.
Longtime Tucson goaltender Ivan Prosvetov, second on the Roadrunners' career list in games played with 125 appearances for the AHL's Southern Arizona franchise, agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the NHL's Arizona Coyotes for the 2023-24 season, the Coyotes announced Sunday.
While the Coyotes don't release contract terms, PuckPedia reports that Prosvetov's deal is worth $775,000 at the NHL level, $225,000 in the minors (including Tucson), with a guaranteed number of $300,000 for the coming season.
The signing of Prosvetov, 24, means the Coyotes have three netminders with NHL experience. That includes returning NHL regulars Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram.Â
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That means its most likely Prosvetov, with 13 career NHL appearances in net — all for Arizona — and a 4-3-0-0 record with a 3.98 goals against average and .880 save percentage in 2022-23, will likely be expected to lead a tandem in Tucson that also includes Coyotes offseason signee Matthew Villalta.
Roadrunners goalie Ivan Prosvetov fends off a Reign shot on goal despite being surrounded by three Ontario players in the third period of their AHL game at the Tucson Convention Center, Tucson, Ariz., December 21, 2019. Prosvetov recorded a shutout in the Roadrunners 8-0 win.
Villalta, also 24, has appeared in 108 AHL games to date, all with the Ontario Reign, affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings. Last season Villalta played in 22 games for the Reign, posting a 10-6-2 record with a 3.27 goals against average and .899 save percentage.
Prosvetov, from Moscow, Russia, at 6-5 and 190 pounds, had an up-and-down 2023-24 season in Tucson. His overall numbers weren't world-beating — 16-13-4-1 with a .900 save percentage and 3.06 goals against average in 35 appearances. But he rebounded from, statistically speaking, the worst AHL stretch of his career spanning mid-November through mid-January to help the Roadrunners make a late-season playoff push.
Roadrunner’s goalie Ivan Prosvetov pokes the puck out of the crease ahead of Stockton’s Glenn Gawdin in the first period of their Jan. 5 game.
After a stretch of 16 starts that saw Prosvetov give up four or more goals nine times — and six or more on four of those occasions — Prosvetov's next 16 starts saw him post a .909 save percentage and 2.62 goals against average, earning him an extended late-season call-up to the Coyotes in March. He returned to the Roadrunners to backstop the team's three-game playoff series against the eventual Western Conference champion Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The Roadrunners' all-time leader in games played by a goaltender — the player Prosvetov shared the net with when he broke into the AHL with Tucson in 2019 — is Adin Hill. Hill, who played in 132 games with a .909 save percentage and 2.62 goals against average for Tucson from 2016-2021, backstopped the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights to the franchise's first Stanley Cup win in June.
Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov has appeared in 125 games in his career for the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners, including 35 during the 2022-23 season that saw Tucson edge it's way into the Calder Cup Playoffs. Video highlights courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
Tucson Roadrunners goaltender Ivan Prosvetov has rebounded from a tough stretch with multiple top-flight performances in late January and throughout February 2023. That included a 2-0 shutout win over the Ontario Reign Feb. 3 in Southern California. Video courtesy Tucson Roadrunners
Colorado's right wing Martin Kaut (61) watches his shot carom off Roadrunners' goaltender Ivan Prosvetov (50) in the second period of their AHL game at TCC, January 31, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.
Roadrunners' goaltender Ivan Prosvetov (50) nudges a shot wide of goal against Bakersfield in the third period of their AHL game at the Tucson Convention Center, January 24, 2020 Tucson, Ariz.
Roadrunners goalie Ivan Prosvetov works with Tucson-area youth hockey players during a workout in early December at Tucson Arena.
Roadrunners goalie Ivan Prosvetov stands in the spotlight during the pregame ceremonies before the puck drop against Stockton in their AHL hockey game at the Tucson Convention Center on Jan. 5, 2022.
