4 Potential Corey Crawford Replacements In the Blackhawks’ System

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VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA – FEBRUARY 12, 2019: Avangard Omsk’s goalie Ivan Nalimov in a 2018/2019 KHL Regular Season ice hockey match between Admiral Vladivostok and Avangard Omsk at Fetisov Arena. Yuri Smityuk/TASS (Photo by Yuri SmityukTASS via Getty Images) /

Ivan Nalimov

Ivan Nalimov was drafted by the Blackhawks in the 6th round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Nalimov is 24 years old and has really established himself in the KHL over the past 6 seasons. He has never played hockey in North America since being drafted, so maybe this is the year?

This season, Nalimov posted a 2.14 GAA and .917% Sv% in 14 regular season games. He also had a short, but sweet performance in the playoffs with a 1.17 GAA and .957 Sv%.

Nalimov’s relationship with the Blackhawks has been kind of rocky. He was said to have requested a trade last June since he felt the Blackhawks weren’t going to give him a shot.

Red Star Kunlun (KHL) have signed goaltender Ivan Nalimov to a one-year contract.

Nalimov’s NHL rights are owned by the Chicago Blackhawks, but he requested a trade back in June citing that he did not believing the Hawks were ever going to give him a chance. pic.twitter.com/m3sNRNoAmn
— Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) August 6, 2018

Nalimov displays great lateral speed and vision with the ability to recover quickly. He can make a big save when the time calls for it. Ivan Nalimov is a gamer and he shows it here in this highlight reel.

In my opinion, Ivan Nalimov’s situation has gotten to the point where it’s now or never. He is 24 years old and will turn 25 on August 12th. 2019-20 may finally be Ivan Nalimov’s time to come over from Russia and prove himself.