During the Toronto Marlies’ run to the Calder Cup this spring, arguably no one shined brighter than goalie Artur Akhtyamov.
After taking over for Dennis Hildeby in the second round, Akhtyamov ran with the opportunity and won 15 of his 22 starts while posting a .923 save percentage and a 2.22 goals-against average to help the Marlies win their second title in franchise history.
The Russian net minder took home the Jack A. Butterfield trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs after the Marlies’ decisive Game 5 victory over the Chicago Wolves on Friday night, and now appears set to challenge for a roster spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of next season.
Akhtyamov’s emergence this spring had already put him in the conversation for a roster spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs this fall, but after Joseph Woll was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers in a trade last week, he now appears to be the early favourite to join Anthony Stolarz in making up the team’s goaltending tandem.
A fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, Akhtyamov made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in a disappointing 2025-26 season. He made three appearances, recording an .877 save percentage and 5.24 goals-against average.
The only question remaining is whether or not the organization feels Akhtyamov is ready for the opportunity. Marlies head coach John Gruden certainly does.
“I do,” said Marlies head coach John Gruden in an appearance on TSN1050’s First Up on Monday morning. “Once you first start, the hardest part is sometimes getting that consistency and understanding, thinking that you belong. Sometimes when people get called up there they feel they’re on survival mode. But once you know that you’re embedded in it and you’re there and you’re not going anywhere, he’s going to be outstanding.
“It’s still early, he’s still young. There’s nothing to rush but once he gets that opportunity - knowing his demeanour and what he’s all about - he’s going to do great things.”
After Akhtyamov allowed four goals on 26 shots in Toronto’s Game 4 loss, Wolves coach Spiros Anastas told reporters that his team “may have cracked him a bit”.
The very next night, Gruden turned right back to Akhtyamov for Game 5, who rebounded with a 27-save performance to secure the title for the Marlies.
“Just his ability in big moments to kind of stay in the moment,” Gruden added of his goaltender. “It’s not an easy position… he just seems to have that confidence in him where he’s just unflappable. He just goes about his business. It’s not by chance either, it happens because he does it he puts in all of that work in practice, working on his skill set.
“He’s just so quiet. Some people lead in different ways, he just does it with his actions. I think our players really fed off of that and he was really remarkable in those big moments. For him to be able to go back-to-back like that and bring it home for us was incredible.
“Again, it’s not by accident. He’s won in Russia, he’s won now with us. He’s a great goalie, great kid and the sky is the limit. There’s a lot of work still to do but he’s definitely headed in the right direction.”
