SASKATOON – Since his dazzling performance for Russia at world junior hockey championship, all eyes have been on Saskatoon Blades netminder Andrey Makarov.
A little-known commodity on the Western Hockey League circuit before the tournament, Makarov has had an up-and-down season as the Blades’ starter with an 18-11-0 record to go with a 2.99 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.
But after leading Russia to a silver medal, Makarov’s coach says he’s poised to make his mark on the WHL.
“He was very confident before he left. He’s been a big part of our team this year and has won a lot of games for us,” said Blades coach Lorne Molleken, whose team went just 3-7-0 while Makarov was away. “Before he left, our team was really in a downward spiral and our record wasn’t that good in the month of December.”
As June’s NHL entry draft approaches, Makarov is now a popular topic amongst scouts. Despite the attention, the young Russian says he’s focused on a chance to play for the Memorial Cup. Heading into play Thursday, the Blades sat fifth in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 27-18-1 record.
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“I’m not worried about the draft,” said Makarov. “I just want to keep playing and after the season and post-season I’ll worry about it.”
Media, team members and fans gathered at the John Diefenbaker Airport in Saskatoon on Jan. 7 to congratulate the 18-year-old on his stellar performance at the world junior event after Russia lost the final 1-0 to Sweden in overtime.
“It was so good. When I got to Saskatchewan the media in the airport was waiting,” said Makarov, who suffered a concussion in his first game back in the WHL and is expected back in the lineup soon.
“It was really nice. I was so happy everyone came to see me.”
Makarov turned away an impressive 58 shots against the Swedes, the most he says he’s ever faced in a game of that magnitude.
“That’s the first time in my career in a final game that that’s happened,” he said. “It was overwhelming.”
Molleken says Makarov’s calm demeanour propelled him to success at the international level, especially in Russia’s semifinal win over Canada.
“I thought that for him to go against Canada in the last six minutes or so after Canada closed the gap 6-5, I can’t imagine all the pressure he was under,” Molleken said. “Andrey is a really calm and cool type of player and I thought he demonstrated that in the Canadian game and obviously getting the start in the gold-medal game I thought he was outstanding.”
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