After not reporting to training camp and not appearing in the lineup for the Calgary Flames, Calgary Wranglers, or Rapid City Rush, there is finally some clarity on absent Flames’ netminder Daniil Chechelev. The netminder has resurfaced in Russia, signing a contract with HC Vityaz and joining their system.
The caption states that he’s signed through to the end of the 2023–24 season.
How did Chechelev get here?
The Flames drafted Chechelev in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL Draft—the same year that they drafted Connor Zary. He was drafted out of HC Vityaz, where he put up a 0.922 save percentage in 49 games in the MHL.
The next season, he would go on to put up one of the most impressive front halves of a season of any goalie in recent memory. He went 10–0–0 and allowed just 18 goals against in that time. The MHL is a scorer’s league, and to put up a 0.943 save percentage is exceedingly rare. While his numbers would come back to earth a bit from there, he would still finish with a 0.924 save percentage and earn a half season’s worth of play in the VHL.
Things would drop off substantially from there. Chechelev spent the next two seasons in North America, featuring almost exclusively in the ECHL. While it is a tough league at the best of times, Chechelev finished with a 0.894 save percentage in both seasons in the ECHL, earning just three AHL games.
There was a very good chance that he would have seen more AHL minutes this season if he stayed in North America. With Dustin Wolf ready for the NHL, Chechelev would have likely split time with Oskar Dansk in the Wranglers’ crease and could have had an opportunity to show he is more than an ECHL netminder. Alas, it’s back to Russia for him.
What’s next for Chechelev?
It’s very odd that there was no statement made or anything announced from his agent to this point, but Chechelev will not be back in North America this season. Smart money would say that this is probably the end of his tenure in North America. The Flames technically would have held his North American rights for one more season, but given he is in Russia now, his rights sit with the team if he does ever come back over.
Thanks for the memories, Chech! All the best in Russia.
