Flames recall Arsenii Sergeev, will make first NHL start against Kings
The Calgary Flames have recalled goaltender Arsenii Sergeev from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers on an emergency basis ahead of their 2025-26 season finale against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Sergeev, 23, has a 5-13-8 record and an .898 save percentage in 28 games with the Wranglers this season. The 6’3″, 205-pound goaltender has also appeared in 12 games with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush this year, going 6-6-0 with a .922 save percentage.
Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg confirmed after Thursday’s morning skate that Sergeev would make his first NHL start against the Kings that night, with scheduled starter Devin Cooley unavailable due to illness. Sergeev will wear No. 40 in his NHL debut, becoming the first Flames player to wear that number since Alex Tanguay in 2013.
Arsenii Sergeev confirmed as tonight’s starter in game 82. First career NHL start. Games in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL this season. #Flames
Sergeev was born in Yaroslavl, Russia, but has been playing in North America since 2019. The Flames drafted him in the seventh round (No. 205 overall) in 2021, his first year of eligibility, after he compiled a 14-4-2 record in 20 games with the NAHL’s Shreveport Mudbugs in the 2020-21 season. When Sergeev hits the ice at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday, he will become the first Mudbugs alumnus to play in the NHL.
After being drafted, Sergeev moved up to the USHL for the 2021-22 campaign, posting a 30-6-2 record and a .918 save percentage in 41 games with the Tri-City Storm. From there, he went on to play the following two seasons at the University of Connecticut, but he lost the crease to Nashville Predators draft pick Ethan Haider in his sophomore year.
In search of a clearer role, Sergeev transferred to Penn State for his junior year and backstopped the Nittany Lions to a surprise Frozen Four appearance in the 2024-25 season. He appeared in 33 of a possible 40 games for Penn State that year, going 19-9-4 with four shutouts and a .919 save percentage.
Sergeev signed his two-year, entry-level deal with the Flames on April 14, 2025. Now, barely a year later, he’ll make his NHL debut for a Flames team that could clinch the third-best 2026 draft lottery odds with any fashion of loss against the Kings.