One of the top Pittsburgh Penguins prospects at training camp this season is Russian goalie Sergei Murashov. After a stellar career in the KHL, he’s now in North America and on the fast track to stopping pucks in the NHL.
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When Murashov gets a call-up to Pittsburgh, he’ll become only the second Russian-born goalie to play for the organization. Who is the other one? Alexander Pechursky.
Let’s revisit the brief career of Pechursky, who only played 36 minutes with the Penguins.
Alexander Pechursky’s Path to the NHL
Born on June 4, 1990, in Magnitogorsk, Russia, Pechursky was only one when Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr celebrated the Penguins’ first Stanley Cup championship in 1991.
By 2005, he was tending goal for Metallurg Magnitoorsk-2 in the Russia3 league, eventually dressing in two KHL games by the time Pittsburgh drafted him in the fifth round (150th overall) in 2008.
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He came to North America and skated with the Tri-City Americans in 2009-10, compiling a 13-10-1 record with great statistics, including a .912 SV% and 2.61 GAA.
Pechursky earned a spot in the Penguins lineup that season, dressing in a Jan. 16, 2010, contest on the road against the Vancouver Canucks. He came in for a relief appearance, replacing John Curry, who surrendered five goals on 14 shots in 24:29.
During his 35:31 of action, Pechursky made 12 saves on 13 shots to finish the evening with one goal against and a .923 SV%.
It was the only time that he would skate in an NHL game. He returned to the Americans in 2010-11 for just three games, spending most of the campaign in the CHL with the Mississippi RiverKings.
Although Pechursky was loaned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he did not get into any games. For the 2011-12 season, he returned to Russia and split time between the KHL, VHL, and MHL.
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Over the final nine seasons of his professional career, he dressed for several clubs in various leagues, only producing a sub .900 SV% on three occasions. However, he didn’t see a lot of action with any team, dressing a career-high 38 games with Tsen Tou Jilin in the VHL in 2017-18.
His winningest season came in 2012-13 with Yuzhny Ural Orsk in the VHL, when he earned a 22-11-2 record in 35 starts.
When Pechurskuy retired after the 2019-20 season, he had been a U18 WJC gold and silver medalist and had also won the KHL Gagarin Cup. His overall totals in the KHL were 13-27-7, with far more success in the MHL (17-3-2) and VHL (63-47-8).
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