Alexandar Georgiyevich Georgiev (Russian: Александр Георгиевич Георгиев; born 10 February 1996) is a Bulgarian-born Russian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the first Bulgarian-born player to play in the NHL.[1]
| Alexandar Georgiev | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Georgiev with the Colorado Avalanche in 2023 | |||
| Born |
10 February 1996 Ruse, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Catches | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Colorado Avalanche TPS New York Rangers | ||
| National team |
 Russia | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||
Playing career
editBorn in Bulgaria, Georgiev started playing hockey in Russia, where his family moved shortly after he was born;[2] he is a dual citizen of both countries.[3] He started playing for the Moscow-based Penguins, then moved to Voskresensk to play for Khimik Voskresensk, and later to Finland. Georgiev made his Liiga debut playing with TPS during the 2014–15 season.[4]
Despite two standout seasons with TPS showing developmental promise, Georgiev went undrafted through the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. With an ambition to play in North America, Georgiev was invited to participate in the New York Rangers' developmental camp.[5] In impressing through his performances, on 18 July 2017, he agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers.[6] On 22 February 2018, Georgiev made his NHL debut where he made 38 saves as the Rangers lost 3–1 to the Montreal Canadiens.[7] On 3 March, Georgiev stopped 35 shots and earned his first NHL win as the Rangers beat the Edmonton Oilers 3–2.[1]
On 21 November 2018, Georgiev recorded his first career NHL shutout, winning 5–0 against the New York Islanders.[8] On 10 February 2019, Georgiev made a career-high 55 saves in a 4–1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, becoming the goaltender with second-most saves in a game in Rangers' history, while also setting a record for most saves in regulation.[9][10] In a 3 March game against the Washington Capitals, Georgiev threw his stick at the puck after forward Alexander Ovechkin had faked him out. Officials originally called it a no goal, but changed the call after reviewing it, granting a 3–2 shootout win to the Capitals.[11]
On 7 July 2022, the negotiating rights to Georgiev were traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for third-round and fifth-round picks in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.[12] As a pending restricted free agent he quickly agreed to terms on a three-year, $10.2 million contract with the Avalanche on 10 July 2022. [13] He had a career year in his first season with his new team, leading the league in wins with 40.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
editBold indicates led league
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2014–15 | TPS | Jr. A | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.25 | .920 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | 2.60 | .909 | ||
| 2014–15 | TPS | Liiga | 14 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 759 | 28 | 2 | 2.21 | .917 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | TPS | Jr. A | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.85 | .905 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | TPS | Liiga | 10 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 395 | 15 | 1 | 2.28 | .915 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 79 | 5 | 0 | 3.78 | .857 | ||
| 2015–16 | SaPKo | Mestis | 13 | — | — | — | — | 30 | — | 2.49 | .907 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | TPS | Liiga | 27 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1555 | 44 | 2 | 1.70 | .923 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 37 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 2076 | 103 | 2 | 2.98 | .909 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | New York Rangers | NHL | 10 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 515 | 27 | 0 | 3.15 | .918 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | New York Rangers | NHL | 33 | 14 | 13 | 4 | 1875 | 91 | 2 | 2.91 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 11 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 624 | 38 | 0 | 3.66 | .883 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | New York Rangers | NHL | 34 | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1892 | 96 | 2 | 3.04 | .910 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | New York Rangers | NHL | 19 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 974 | 44 | 2 | 2.71 | .905 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | New York Rangers | NHL | 33 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 1746 | 85 | 2 | 2.92 | .898 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 2 | 0 | 2.03 | .935 | ||
| 2022–23 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 62 | 40 | 16 | 6 | 3701 | 156 | 5 | 2.53 | .919 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 415 | 18 | 0 | 2.60 | .914 | ||
| 2023–24 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 63 | 38 | 18 | 5 | 3638 | 183 | 2 | 3.02 | .897 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 694 | 33 | 0 | 2.85 | .894 | ||
| Liiga totals | 51 | 18 | 20 | 6 | 2,709 | 87 | 5 | 1.93 | .920 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 5 | 0 | 3.70 | .857 | ||||
| NHL totals | 254 | 136 | 82 | 22 | 14,339 | 682 | 15 | 2.85 | .908 | 20 | 9 | 10 | 1,168 | 53 | 0 | 2.72 | .904 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Russia
| ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2019 Slovakia | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2016 Finland | |
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Russia | WJC | 
|
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 310 | 13 | 0 | 2.52 | .898 | |
| 2019 | Russia | WC | 
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 1.000 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 310 | 13 | 0 | 2.52 | .898 | ||||
| Senior totals | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 1.000 | ||||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Liiga | ||
| Best GAA (1.70) | 2017 | |
| NHL | ||
| NHL All-Star Game | 2024 | |
References
edit- ^ a b "Alexander Georgiev earns first NHL win, Rangers beat Oilers". sportsnet.ca. 4 March 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ Seren Rosso, Alessandro (14 August 2017). "Alexandar Georgiev ready for the Rangers". The Hockey Writers.
- ^ Woodley, Kevin (16 March 2018). "Georgiev impresses with Rangers, joins wave of Russian goalies to NHL". NHL.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "2014–15 HC TPS player statistics". Eliteprospects.com. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ^ Caporaso, Nicole (2 December 2017). "WOLF PACK'S GEORGIEV CHASING HIS DREAM". theahl.com. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- ^ "Rangers agree to terms with Free Agent Goaltender Alexander Georgiev". New York Rangers. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ Cyrgalis, Brett (22 February 2018). "Goalie's solid NHL debut one bright spot in Rangers' loss". New York Post. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
- ^ Rosen, Dan (21 November 2018). "Georgiev's first NHL shutout helps Rangers end skid against Islanders". NHL.com. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ^ Obernauer, Michael (10 February 2019). "Recap: Georgiev Sets Career-High in Saves as Rangers Top Leafs". NHL.com. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ Buttar, Simmi (11 February 2019). "Georgiev's 55 saves help Rangers cool off Leafs 4-1". AP News. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ Hascup, Jimmy (4 March 2019). "Capitals win without goal when Rangers goalie throws stick at Alex Ovechkin attempt in shootout". USA TODAY. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "Rangers Acquire Three Draft Picks in Exchange for Alexandar Georgiev". NHL.com. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Avalanche signs Georgiev". Colorado Avalanche. 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database