This week is a special week for the Rangers organization and fan base, as it is the week goalie legend Henrik Lundqvist has his number retired in Madison Square Garden. I would highly suggest reading Henrik’s post so you can understand just how monumental it is to fill his shoes, which leads us to our player this week. Igor Shesterkin is the starting goaltender for the Rangers and has been a star player, aside from injuries, this season. It hasn’t been easy stepping into the shoes of the King Henrik, but Igor has held his own, as fans are dubbing him the Czar of New York.

Igor Shesterkin was born on December 30, 1995, in Moscow, Russia. Growing up, Igor’s parents had never assumed that he would have the desire to play hockey, as his father played soccer and grandfather played volleyball. The start of Shesterkin’s hockey career was by coincidence. Shesterkin attended a hockey game with his mother and her friend and instantly fell in love with the sport and the players’ skating abilities. Igor came home and raved to his father about how badly he wanted to play, resulting in him joining a hockey club in the neighborhood. In fact, Shesterkin’s favorite team growing up was the Rangers and he even idolized Lundqvist, little did he know he would play on the same team with him! Shesterkin’s parents hired a personal coach to train him into an outstanding goalie. His mother “could not shake off the fear that the puck might fly into her son’s helmet. It was not an easy decision for his entire family, but the agreed to the coach’s suggestion because Igor himself consented to play goalie.” In his early playing career, he was on teams within the KHL and played for team Russia in the 2018 Olympic games. He was drafted by the Rangers in the 2014 NHL draft, as the 118^th overall pick and as the 5^th best goalie entering the draft.

Shesterkin began playing for the Rangers officially in the 2019-2020 season, as Lundqvist was becoming increasingly closer to retirement. Since the beginning of his NHL career, Shesterkin excelled. In his first season, he played 12 games and had a save percentage of .932, meaning he saved 93.2% of all shots faced. After Lundqvist’s retirement, Shesterkin became the starting goaltender for the Rangers, sharing net time with Alexandar Georgiev. Analysis on his goaltending style states that his patience and balance in the net. His presence in the net is something truly incredible to watch. Shesterkin, while still a relatively new goaltender in the NHL, has not had any trouble with building a reputation for himself both within the Rangers organization and the League as a whole. This season, Shesterkin has a .937 save percentage in 26 games. Many fans throughout the League predict that he will win the Vezina Trophy, which is given to the best goaltender at the end of the season.

While Lundqvist’s shoes may be daunting to fill, Shesterkin has taken on that role with ease. His sheer talent and skill have proved that he will be a solid resource and essential member of the team for years to come. Personally, I’m beyond excited to watch as New York falls under a new reign – from King to Czar.