There was a lot of talk before the 2025 NHL Entry Draft about the Columbus Blue Jackets and what exactly they’d do with their two first-round picks. Despite several discussions of trading them for current assets, the market did not deliver what general manager Don Waddell was hoping for, so they selected prospects with each. With the 14th overall pick, they went with a left-shot defender, Jackson Smith, who had a breakout season with the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Tri-City Americans. With the other pick, they selected a goalie: Pyotr Andreyanov.
He’s a goalie who won’t be seen in Columbus for at least the next four seasons, as he’s signed a long-term contract with CSKA Moscow in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The term of the contract is five years, with an out clause if he chooses to go to North America after the fourth year. Some Blue Jackets fans are concerned about this span of time and wonder if maybe they would have been better off taking someone from North America.
While four or five years sounds like a long time, in terms of development paths for goalies, it isn’t completely abnormal, and it could wind up benefitting the player and team in the long run.
The Blue Jackets Are Excited About Andreyanov
Many were surprised to see the Blue Jackets pick Andreyanov so early. The decision drew comparisons to their surprise pick of Yegor Chinakhov at 21st in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, because it was considered a little bit off the beaten path. Most considered Andreyanov among the better goalies available in the draft, and he was considered the best international goalie by NHL Central Scouting. However, many considered him behind North American goalies Joshua Ravensbergen and Jack Ivankovic, and according to Elite Prospects, most draft lists had him being picked between 58th and 81st – which would place him in the very late second round or third round of the draft.
The Blue Jackets were excited to get the chance to pick him, and based on Waddell’s comments, they don’t believe they were reaching at all.
“I’m not a goalie expert, but I can interview people,” Waddell said in an interview on the Blue Jackets’ website. “Our goalie guys, Nick and Brad Thiessen and Jimmy Viers all said, by far, they thought this was the best guy. You know, we came into the draft saying that we’d like to draft a goalie. So when we put our list together, it worked out two ways. It’s kind of interesting, because he’s our No. 1 goalie, but he was actually our next guy on our list, so we didn’t have to debate at all.”
Waddell has a history of drafting Russian players when others may shy away due to the current geopolitical state and other externalities involving the KHL. In his last three drafts with his former team, the Carolina Hurricanes, he picked 14 players from Russia in 27 picks. That’s 51.85% of his draft picks in the last three years from Russian leagues. While it’s too soon to tell on those players if they will pan out or not, it’s proof that Waddell bets on talent wherever it’s from, he has faith in what his teams’ have to offer, and believes that he’ll eventually be able to convince these players, in this case Andreyanov, across the pond to Ohio.
Andreyanov’s Development Path Comparables
For a top skater prospect to take longer than three or four years to make an impact in the NHL is an eternity. Goalies tend to take a little longer to ripen on the vine. Despite the appearance that Andreyanov being four or five years away at a minimum seems like a long time, as a goalie he is right on track.
Related: Pyotr Andreyanov – 2025 NHL Draft Prospect Profile
Let’s look at the best goalies in the world right now and when they were able to play more than 30 games in an NHL season. I’m using the 30-game mark because that’s telling for when a goalie is making an impact in the lineup and considered more than just a backup and is a key part of the tandem. That’s what the Blue Jackets want from Andreyanov, to be an impactful and key part of their goaltending scheme. These metrics will give us an idea of how long it generally takes goalies to make that leap.
| Goalie Name | Country of Birth | Year Drafted | First NHL Season with 30+ Games Played | Seasons After Draft Before 30+ Games Played | Age at 30+ Games Played |
| Connor Hellebuyck | USA | 2012 | 2016-17 | 5 | 23 |
| Ilya Sorokin | Russia | 2014 | 2021-22 | 8 | 26 |
| Igor Shesterkin | Russia | 2014 | 2020-21 | 8 | 25 |
| Andrei Vasilevskiy | Russia | 2012 | 2016-17 | 5 | 22 |
| Jeremy Swayman | USA | 2017 | 2021-22 | 5 | 22 |
| Jake Oettinger | USA | 2017 | 2021-22 | 5 | 22 |
| Juuse Saros | Finland | 2013 | 2018-19 | 6 | 23 |
You’ll note a bit longer of an incubation period for the goalies who were drafted out of Russia, like the New York Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin and the New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin, but for the most part, five years is a pretty standard amount of time. The long-term contract paves the developmental path for Andreyanov in a way that is right on track for him to blossom into what the Blue Jackets had hoped in picking him in the first round.
He’ll spend at least the next four years in one of the best organizations in the KHL, and he will benefit immensely from getting the chance to play quality minutes against the best quality of competition that the eastern hemisphere has to offer. That type of pressure and competition in his home country and familiar surroundings will help him to become a quality goaltender. Then, once he becomes ready, he can make the jump and not have to grow his game and learn the North American culture at the same time. In a position as mentally taxing as goaltending, any efforts that a team can make to alleviate stress will help them and the player in the long run.
