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Goaltending prospects are a different kind of bet. The tools can look obvious and the results can still swing wildly from one season to the next. Mikhail Yegorov is the clearest example of that tension in the New Jersey Devils system. At 6-foot-5 with the quickness to match the frame, he has the raw ingredients of a future starter. That is why he sits at No. 2 in our 2026 Devils Prospect Rankings, just behind Anton Silayev. The criteria here favor athleticism, compete, hockey sense, and technical detail, then layer in production, trajectory, and realistic NHL projection. Goalie development carries extra volatility. Even with that discount, Yegorov’s ceiling is still the highest of any netminder in the organization. Background Born March 7, 2006 in St. Petersburg, Yegorov was the 49th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft — the second goaltender taken that year. He came through the CSKA Moscow system before heading to the USHL with the Omaha Lancers. The 2023-24 season in Omaha was messy. He played 43 games on a weak team, posted a .892 save percentage, and faced a heavy volume of shots. That year did not define him. It just showed he could survive a bad situation. He started 2024-25 back in Omaha, then accelerated his commitment to Boston University in January. The jump changed everything. In 18 games he went 11-6-1 with a .927 save percentage and 2.15 goals-against average. He won the Eberly Award for the best save percentage at the Beanpot and backstopped the Terriers through the Hockey East tournament and into the Frozen Four. For a midseason arrival, it was one of the more complete college goalie stories in recent years. Last season he became the full-time starter. He played 35 of BU’s 36 games, finished 16-15-2 with a 2.73 GAA, a .904 save percentage, and two shutouts. The Terriers were not the same team in front of him. The defense leaked chances, the structure slipped, and the workload never let up. He still closed the year well and earned Hockey East Goaltender of the Week after a weekend sweep of Boston College. He remains unsigned and is entering his junior season at BU. The Tools The athletic profile is the reason he ranks this high. Yegorov covers the net with length and then adds real explosiveness. He gets post-to-post quickly. He drops into the butterfly and recovers without looking heavy. The first save is usually clean; the second save is where the athleticism shows. He can still make a play after the initial shot has already beaten his first position. The glove is active. He tracks the puck well through traffic and does not get lost when the play shifts from the slot to the back door. Rebound control is still a work in progress — some nights he swallows the puck, other nights the second chance sits in the slot — but the foundation is there. Hockey sense is a strength. He reads the developing play instead of waiting for the shot. He stays square more often than not and does not over-chase. That matters as much as the raw athleticism. A big goalie who guesses is just a big target. Yegorov generally stays patient. Compete is not in question. He wants the net. He stayed in the crease through a long, uneven sophomore year and did not look like a player waiting for the season to end. Mental reset is one of the quieter positives. Bad goals happen. He has shown he can put the last one away and play the next shift. The physical question is strength. At roughly 180 pounds, he is still lean for a 6-foot-5 goalie. Adding mass without losing the first-step quickness is the next box. If that comes, the tools start to look like a starter’s toolkit instead of a prospect’s toolkit. Production and Trajectory The numbers need context. The 2024-25 half-season at BU is the best evidence of what he can do when the team in front of him is organized. He did not just survive. He raised the team’s ceiling. The Beanpot and Frozen Four run were not empty highlights. They were high-leverage games against good opponents. The 2025-26 season is the counterpoint. Playing 35 games for a team that struggled defensively will flatten almost any goalie’s numbers. A .904 save percentage looks ordinary on the page. It looks different when the team in front of him was giving up grade-A chances at a higher rate than the year before. He still posted two shutouts, still had 30-save nights, and still finished stronger than he started. That is the trajectory that matters. The first college look was excellent. The second was noisier, but the athletic traits did not vanish. A goalie who can absorb a heavy, imperfect year and still show the same movement and composure is easier to project than one whose game only works in a perfect environment. NHL Projection Yegorov projects as a potential NHL starter. That is the upside case, not the guarantee. The floor is a capable NHL backup or 1B. The ceiling is a true No. 1 if the strength, rebound control, and consistency continue to climb. Goalies have a wider range of outcomes than skaters, and that range has to be built into the ranking. Even with the volatility tax, the tools are better than any other goalie in the Devils pipeline. The timeline is longer than Silayev’s. Yegorov is likely to stay at Boston University for at least one more season. After that, the AHL is the expected next step. A realistic NHL window sits around 2028-29, with room to move earlier if the next college season is dominant and he turns pro sooner. Comparables are imperfect. Think of the big, athletic college goalies who needed a year or two in the minors before the NHL game slowed down. The ones who made it were the ones who added strength and cleaned up the second-chance details. Perhaps like the BU goaltender who manned the net before Yegorov did, Jake Oettinger. That is the available path in front of him. What to Watch in 2026-27 The next season at BU is the test. Look first at the team in front of him. If the defense is tighter, the numbers should bounce. That alone would not prove much. The more important signs are internal: - Does he hold the explosiveness over another 30-plus start workload? - Do the rebounds get shorter and more predictable? - Does he add strength without losing the first push? - Can he steal games when the structure in front of him slips again? Those answers will decide whether he stays in college through 2027-28 or starts the conversation about turning pro after this year. Verdict Yegorov will not be in New Jersey this fall. He should remain at Boston University, take the majority of the starts, and try to put last year’s statistical dip in the proper context. If he does that, the question shifts from “was last year a problem?” to “when does he sign?” Ranking Yegorov at No. 2 is a bet on his tools and ceiling, not last year’s save percentage. Goalies take time. This one has the size, the athleticism, the compete, and enough evidence from the Frozen Four year to justify the wait.