Ilya Samsonov is a highly touted goalie prospect who was selected 22nd overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.  The 22-year old completed his first season with the Caps’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Hershey Bears in 2018-19 with big expectations to develop into the goalie of the future for the Caps. 

Samsonov was the first goalie selected in the first round since fellow countryman, Andrei Vasilevskiy was taken 19th overall in 2012 and has since become a Vezina winning goaltender, who just signed an eight-year contract extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The path Andrei took to the NHL included time in the AHL and the similarities between the two goalies suggest Samsonov is on a similar career trajectory.

Standing at 6’ 3 and weighing 205 lbs, Samsonov leverages his size and combines it with an aggressive style by forcing the shooter’s hand.  Coming off his first year of professional hockey in North America where he appeared in 37 games, posting a 2.70 goals-against average and .898 save percentage, since he recorded his first shutout on January 12, he posted a 15-3-1-1 record with 1.78 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. It is those impressive numbers and quick adjustment from the first half of the season into the second that shows the kind of prowess in the net that he can bring.

Samsonov hails from Magnitogorsk, Russia which is the same city and hockey system that developed Evgeni Malkin. He began playing hockey when he was seven years old and since he can remember, always had a desire and passion to play hockey. As a child, he pushed his parents to get him into hockey. Although they were very busy with their careers they enrolled their son in hockey. From that moment onward, they found time to take him to practices and games marking the beginning of his hockey journey.

Samsonov fondly remembers his time playing hockey in the Metallurg system in Russia. He enjoyed success with the team’s junior club and then advanced to the KHL where he won the Gagarin Cup in 2016 with Magnitogorsk Metallurg. Twice he participated in the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2016 and 2017, where the team went on to win silver in 2016 and bronze in 2017.

Samsonov is always proud to represent his country on the National level is very from the U17 team to the World Juniors to being called to the Men’s National Team.  Great friendships were made with teammates and trainers including Mikhail Sergachev of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Denis Guryanov of the Texas Stars, and Kirill Kaprizov who is a highly talented and electrifying player in the KHL and who is a prospect of the Minnesota Wild, among other peers.

Although many of his peers took the CHL route to the NHL Samsonov progressed through Russia’s, MHL junior league and onto the KHL before coming over this past season to the AHL. “For me, there was not any reason to go somewhere else to play. I was already on the Junior National Team and the KHL team in Magnitogorsk. I had everything here and didn’t consider playing elsewhere.”

The experience of playing in the KHL helped Samsonov prepare for his first NHL training camp with the Capitals last season. He arrived mentally prepared and accustomed to playing with adults at the highest level. “Camp went great, it was nice to meet everyone and to learn about the off-ice components of being a pro in North America, like how to answer questions from the press. I enjoyed hitting the ice with felloe Russians Alexander Ovechkin, Dimitry Orlov, and Evgeny Kuznetsov. There were several other young Russian prospects like Alexander Alexeyev, Sergei Shumakov which made for a very enjoyable experience.”

What he noticed immediately at camp was the velocity of the shots and overall skill level. “It doesn’t matter if you are new in the league or a veteran of 10 to 15 years, always as a goalie it is a challenge when guys like Ovechkin are shooting at you.  Ask any goalie in the league.”

Samsonov’s first season in the AHL was one that he can take a lot of learning lessons from. “It was a challenging year. Especially the first part of the year, not really knowing English and having my family so far away from me. Everything is new from teammates to the trainers. There was a period of adaptation and I think that was reflective of the start of the season. In my playing career to this point, I had never changed teams and always played in the same system in Metallurg. Furthermore, while I had the familiarity of playing against adults from my four seasons in the KHL, the style of the game was different. I noticed was that in the KHL there is more predictability and you can read the plays easier. In North America, there are all these deflections and funny bounces and it makes it harder to adjust as a goalie. You begin to understand when to react to a bounce and when to not bite for it and get out of position. By midseason, I understood how to make the changes necessary to play in this style and my trainers and I worked diligently on this. I began to pick up the language and speak more with my teammates and this helped me become more comfortable. I believe these changes are reflective of my results in the second half of the season. By the end of the season, I already felt up to speed and had momentum and experience to take with me into the off-season.”

What also stood out for Samsonov is the importance of the psychological component of the game and how mindset is everything especially for a goalie. “How you are playing over long periods of time and staying consistent is achieved through the right mindset. You need to be able to win and it doesn’t matter the final score as long as you win. You can’t let a bad game or goal get to you. That means not dwelling on it and this is even more critical in-game where the very next shift you have to be prepared and not let in another goal or get flustered. The team feeds off your performance and they play with more confidence the more you are in the zone as a goalie. Just look at how Jordan Binnington came in for the St. Louis Blues last season and with his calmness and composure in the net. He just went on a roll and the whole team followed to eventually win the Stanley Cup. That is the power of mindset and what it can do for a team. The reverse is also true and proves mindset is the most important factor for a goalie because the whole team feels and is impacted by it.”  

Samsonov believes the best quality he has as a goalie is his mental preparation and focus. “Especially after this season and the tough first part of it, my resolve and mindset allowed me to really catch fire and then stay on a roll to complete the second half of the season strong. This mindset fuels my preparation for next season and to carry the momentum heading into training camp. As a pro-athlete, mindset, resolve, and how you choose to show up in the moment influences everything.”

This off-season, Samsonov enjoyed quality time with his family in his home town of Magnitogorsk as he didn’t get to see his family the whole year. Outside of hockey, he enjoys playing all kinds of sports including basketball and soccer with his friends. He also enjoys his Play-Station and being able to clear his mind.  

The biggest highlight of his summer though was getting married to his long-time girlfriend, Maria Semyonova. At the wedding was his former Hershey Bears teammate Sergei Shumakov.

2019-20 is going to be an important year for the young goaltender with lofty expectations to be a clutch performer and to develop into the goaltender that he is projected to be, especially with Caps starting goaltender, Braden Holtby in the final year of his contract before becomming an unrestricted free agent.

With training camp around the corner, Ilya is looking to carry the momentum he gained from the latter half of last season, coupled with a solid off-season of training preparation to impress the Caps’ front office. There are also big expectations on the Capitals to have a bounce-back season after an early exit from last year’s playoffs. Samsonov will be prepared for when his opportunity comes.  Capitals fans have a lot to be excited about with their young goalie of the future, who is already mature beyond his years.