Alexandar Georgiyevich Georgiev (russian: Александр Георгиевич Георгиев; born 10 February 1996) is a Bulgarian-born Russian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

for the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He is the first Bulgarian-born player to play in the NHL.

Playing career

Born in Bulgaria, Georgiev started playing hockey in Russia, where his family moved shortly after he was born; he is a dual citizen of both countries. He started playing for the Moscow-based Penguins, then moved to Khimik Voskresensk, and later to Finland. Georgiev made his

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding lea ...

debut playing with TPS during the 2014–15 season. 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 The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

' developmental camp. In impressing through his performances, on 18 July 2017, he agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers. On 22 February 2018, Georgiev made his NHL debut where he made 38 saves as the Rangers lost 3–1 to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. On 3 March, Georgiev stopped 35 shots and earned his first NHL win as the Rangers beat the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

3–2. On 21 November 2018, Georgiev recorded his first career NHL shutout, winning 5–0 against the New York Islanders. On 10 February 2019, Georgiev made a career-high 55 saves in a 4–1 win over the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

, becoming the goaltender with second-most saves in a game in Rangers' history, while also setting a record for most saves in regulation. In a 3 March game against the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

, Georgiev threw his stick at the puck after forward

Alexander Ovechkin Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin ( rus, Александр Михайлович Овечкин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐˈvʲetɕkʲɪn; born 17 September 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capital ...

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. On 7 July 2022, the negotiating rights to Georgiev were traded to the

in exchange for third-round and fifth-round picks in the

2022 NHL Entry Draft The 2022 NHL Entry Draft was the 60th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on July 7–8, 2022, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Montreal were originally scheduled to host the 2020 draft but were unable to do so due to the COVID-19 pandem ...

and third-round pick in the

2023 NHL Entry Draft The 2023 NHL Entry Draft will be the 61st NHL Entry Draft. The draft is expected to be held on June 28–29, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Eligibility Ice hockey players born between January 1, 2003, and September 15, 2 ...

. 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.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1996 births Living people Bulgarian ice hockey players Colorado Avalanche players Hartford Wolf Pack players HC TPS players New York Rangers players Sportspeople from Ruse, Bulgaria Russian ice hockey goaltenders Russian people of Bulgarian descent SaPKo players Undrafted National Hockey League players {{Russia-icehockey-goaltender-stub