On July 13, we covered reports indicating that despite signing an entry-level contract, Columbus Blue Jackets goalie prospect Sergei Ivanov would be loaned back to Russia so he could spend one more season developing in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg. Today, the KHL made Ivanov’s move back to St. Petersburg for an additional season official.
A 2022 fifth-round pick, Ivanov has developed into one of the top goalie prospects in the Blue Jackets’ system. Earlier this year, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked Ivanov the No. 2 goalie in Columbus’ prospect pool (behind 2025 first-rounder Pyotr Andreyanov) and the team’s No. 4 prospect overall. He’s been a tandem goalie for the last three years at the KHL level, across three separate teams.
In 2023-24, Ivanov posted a .928 save percentage in 33 games for Admiral Vladivostok. A move to a weak HC Sochi team saw him hit a respectable .911 save percentage despite an 11-21-3 record, and then last season he had a .928 save percentage in 29 games for SKA.
More transactions from around the hockey world:
Former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Raivis Ansons signed an ECHL deal with the Bloomington Bison, reports Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey. The 24-year-old Latvian forward had been playing in the Penguins organization, largely with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, for the last four years. A 2020 fifth-round pick, Ansons scored just 20 points in 119 career AHL games, and spent a month of the season in the ECHL after being sent down in February.
Goalie Evan Fitzpatrick, who is a former St. Louis Blues prospect, signed a deal with the Coventry Blaze. The signing cements Fitzpatrick’s move from the DEL, the top professional league in Germany, to the EIHL, which is the top professional league in the United Kingdom. A 2016 second-round pick, Fitzpatrick won a Memorial Cup during his time in the QMJHL, but fizzled out in the North American pro game after failing to secure more than sporadic call-ups to the AHL.
Fitzpatrick was the No. 2 goalie for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers last season, going 9-14-0 with an .885 save percentage.