February Penguins’ Prospects Update: Goaltenders

We’re now beyond the halfway point of the 2025-26 season, and it’s been a good one for a lot of Pittsburgh Penguins’ prospects so far.

GM/POHO Kyle Dubas has managed to infuse the Penguins’ organization with a lot of promising talent in the last two-plus years by acquiring prospects and accruing draft capital, and the Penguins’ enhanced development staff has also helped young players already in the organization begin to find potential paths to the NHL.

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And the Penguins’ goaltending depth only continues to impress – and continues to get deeper and deeper. In fact – in addition to Sergei Murashov, who has already turned heads at various points this season – they may just have another goaltender to keep a keen eye on in their system.

Here is our February Penguins’ prospects update for goaltenders:

Sergei Murashov

It’s hard to believe that a guy boasting a .924 save percentage at the AHL level this season actually saw a stretch of struggle this season.

Well, Murashov has struggled for a few very small stretches this season – enough to dethrone him of the AHL’s top save percentage and goals-against average. In late October and late November – sandwiching a brief NHL stint – there was a four-game stretch where, in three of those four games, he had a sub-.895 save percentage. At the turn of the New Year, Murashov had two consecutive appearances where he was pulled and allowed five goals in each game.

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But, other than that, he’s been lights-out. Murashov is still third in the AHL in both goals-against average (2.11) and save percentage, and he is also 7-1 with a .925 save percentage in his last eight appearances. He is still – more than likely – the first guy the Penguins will call on if needed, and he is still the best goaltending prospect in the Penguins’ system.

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Joel Blomqvist

After missing the first month of the season due to a lower-body injury sustained during training camp, Blomqvist, 24, got off to a good start this season. In his first nine appearances, he put together a .929 save percentage to go along with a 5-2-2 record to close out the calendar year of 2025.

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However, he’s struggled a bit since then. In his last six appearances, he’s put up an .878 save percentage and a 3.17 goals-against average, which puts his season save percentage at .916 and his record at 8-4-3-1.

Of course, the overall numbers are still good, and he is playing in a bit of a backup role behind Murashov, who has seen the majority of the starts. The Penguins are still high on Blomqvist, and his performance against Murashov’s for the rest of the season could help determine who has the inside track to a potential NHL roster spot for 2026-27.

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Taylor Gauthier

Gauthier didn’t appear in a game this season until Dec. 6, as the injury bug plagued him again to begin the season – just like his start to 2024-25.

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But – just like last season – that did not deter him at all. In fact, the 25-year-old netminder is putting together the best season of his career up to this point for the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.

Across 15 appearances this season, Gauthier boasts an 8-4-3 record with a .937 save percentage and a 1.81 goals-against average. This includes a remarkable performance on Feb. 4 against the Fort Wayne Comets in which he stopped 53 of 55 Comets’ shots en route to a 3-2 overtime victory for the Nailers.

Dubas has talked about how he wants the Penguins’ ECHL affiliate to be a legitimate developmental step for players with an NHL future, and the foundation seems to have been laid there. Gauthier has put together three very impressive seasons in a row for Wheeling, and he has gotten it done in his AHL minutes so far as well.

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As good as Murashov and Blomqvist have been, don’t discount Gauthier as a legitimate option for the Penguins somewhere down the line. The biggest thing working against him right now is the fact that the two guys in front of him have been outstanding, too, leaving little opportunity for him to see starting minutes at the AHL level. That could change as soon as next season, should one of the other two make the NHL roster.

Maxim Pavlenko

Pavlenko, 23, signed with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) Penguins on a one-year contract this season, and the netminder from Kazakhstan hasn’t seen as much playing time since Gauthier came back into the fold.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound goaltender still has a save percentage north of .900 at .901, and his season started off well enough. But it has been a bit of a mixed bag since the start of the calendar year, as he had shutouts on Jan. 10 and Feb. 7 but struggled in the three starts in between, posting a .759 save percentage in those three appearances.

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It’s also worth noting that Pavlenko appeared in four games at the AHL level earlier this season, going 3-1 with a .912 save percentage – including a shutout.

If he can find a bit more consistency, he could be a legitimate depth option for the Penguins in their system. He moves well for a goaltender his size and occupies a lot of space in net, and his play at the international level gives some reason for optimism.

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Gabriel D’Aigle

You may have heard at this point that the numbers don’t tell the story for D’Aigle, whose Victoriaville Tigres have allowed a QMJHL-high 1,245 shots against, a similar story to last season.

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Well, he’s also made the most saves in the QMJHL with 1,129, and his .907 save percentage is still ninth in the league, even though he’s ninth in the league in terms of minutes for goaltenders. This stuff alone kind of show that there may be more to D’Aigle than what appears to be through a mere stat line.

But it goes beyond that. Jesse Marshall of Faceoff Factor did a fantastic breakdown of the season D’Aigle is having, showing how the Penguins’ 84th overall pick in 2025 is under constant siege in every appearance and still manages to make 10-bell save after 10-bell save.

D’Aigle is not only big at 6-foot-4, 213 pounds, he’s also very quick and very athletic. Marshall’s breakdown covers all of that, so be sure to check it out here.

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This guy may be one to keep an eye on. Once he is in a more stable environment – and not in one where most goaltenders would probably look a whole lot worse – those numbers could look much, much better if he can put everything together.

Notable: G Filip Larsson cleared waivers for the purpose of contract termination and re-signed in Sweden.

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