The upcoming Kontinental Hockey League season promises to be an arena for new statistical achievements among goaltenders. While the absolute records of the legendary Vasily Koshechkin—765 games played, 378 wins, and 90 shutouts—remain seemingly insurmountable, a number of active KHL players are poised to write their names into the league`s history books.
Records for Games Played
Among active goalies, Igor Bobkov (Neftekhimik) and Vasily Demchenko (Dinamo Minsk) lead in the number of games played, sharing eighth and ninth places with 392 appearances in the League. There`s every reason to believe that by the start of the 2025/2026 season, they will surpass the 400-game mark, overtaking Michael Garnett and moving closer to the top five. Moscow Dynamo`s Vladislav Podyapolsky (358 games) is also just a few steps away from breaking into the top ten in this significant category.
Top 10 KHL Goaltenders by Games Played
| No. | Player | Clubs | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasily Koshechkin | Lada, Severstal, Metallurg | 765 |
| 2 | Konstantin Barulin | CSKA, Atlant, Ak Bars, Avangard, Sochi, Neftekhimik | 596 |
| 3 | Alexander Eremenko | Salavat Yulaev, Dynamo Moscow | 515 |
| 4 | Ilya Ezhov | SKA, Lada, Neftekhimik, Vityaz, Salavat Yulaev | 468 |
| 5 | Jakub Kovarzh | Avtomobilist, Severstal | 436 |
| 6 | Ilya Proskuryakov | Metallurg, CSKA, Traktor, Admiral, Torpedo, Yugra, Sochi, Dinamo Riga, Avangard | 433 |
| 7 | Michael Garnett | HC MVD, Dynamo Moscow, Traktor, Slovan, Medvescak | 401 |
| 8 | Igor Bobkov | Metallurg, Admiral, Avangard, Ak Bars, Avtomobilist, Amur, Neftekhimik | 392 |
| 9 | Vasily Demchenko | Traktor, Metallurg, Avangard, Admiral, Dinamo Minsk | 392 |
| 10 | Stanislav Galimov | Ak Bars, Atlant, CSKA, Torpedo, Metallurg, Traktor, Dinamo Riga, Avangard | 364 |
Chasing Milestone Victories
In the victories category, Ak Bars` goalie Timur Bilyalov leads among active players with 181 wins. Given his consistent statistics over the past three seasons (approximately 30 wins per championship), Timur could easily surpass Ilya Sorokin (184), Michael Garnett (185), and Ilya Ezhov (188) in the 2025/2026 season. Furthermore, he has a realistic chance to catch Jakub Kovarzh (198), currently in fourth place, and reach the significant milestone of 200 career victories.
Vasily Demchenko (169 wins) and Igor Bobkov (168 wins) are also on the verge of entering the top 10, trailing only one or two wins behind Ilya Proskuryakov (171 wins), who currently holds the tenth spot.
Top 10 KHL Goaltenders by Wins
| No. | Player | Clubs | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasily Koshechkin | Lada, Severstal, Metallurg | 378 |
| 2 | Alexander Eremenko | Salavat Yulaev, Dynamo Moscow | 299 |
| 3 | Konstantin Barulin | CSKA, Atlant, Ak Bars, Avangard, Sochi, Neftekhimik | 258 |
| 4 | Jakub Kovarzh | Avtomobilist, Severstal | 198 |
| 5 | Ilya Ezhov | SKA, Lada, Neftekhimik, Vityaz, Salavat Yulaev | 188 |
| 6 | Michael Garnett | HC MVD, Dynamo Moscow, Traktor, Slovan, Medvescak | 185 |
| 7 | Ilya Sorokin | Metallurg Novokuznetsk, CSKA | 184 |
| 8 | Timur Bilyalov | Ak Bars, Yugra, Dinamo Riga | 181 |
| 9 | Stanislav Galimov | Ak Bars, Atlant, CSKA, Torpedo, Metallurg, Traktor, Dinamo Riga, Avangard | 173 |
| 10 | Ilya Proskuryakov | Metallurg, CSKA, Traktor, Admiral, Torpedo, Yugra, Sochi, Dinamo Riga, Avangard | 171 |
The Race for Top 10 Shutouts
Timur Bilyalov also ranks among the top ten in shutouts with 36 games without allowing a goal. He has a good chance to move up one or two positions if he can match or exceed his personal best of nine shutouts in a season (set in 2019/2020). Just one shutout away from the current top ten is Igor Bobkov (35), while Lada`s goalie Ivan Bocharov, with 32 career shutouts, could also make a push into the elite list in the upcoming championship.
Top 10 KHL Goaltenders by Shutouts
| No. | Player | Clubs | Shutouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vasily Koshechkin | Lada, Severstal, Metallurg | 90 |
| 2 | Alexander Eremenko | Salavat Yulaev, Dynamo Moscow | 63 |
| 3 | Ilya Sorokin | Metallurg Novokuznetsk, CSKA | 60 |
| 4 | Konstantin Barulin | CSKA, Atlant, Ak Bars, Avangard, Sochi, Neftekhimik | 50 |
| 5 | Jakub Kovarzh | Avtomobilist, Severstal | 45 |
| 6 | Stanislav Galimov | Ak Bars, Atlant, CSKA, Torpedo, Metallurg, Traktor, Dinamo Riga, Avangard | 43 |
| 7 | Lars Johansson | SKA, CSKA | 42 |
| 8 | Timur Bilyalov | Ak Bars, Yugra, Dinamo Riga | 36 |
| 9 | Juha Metsola | Amur, Salavat Yulaev | 36 |
| 10 | Ilya Proskuryakov | Metallurg, CSKA, Traktor, Admiral, Torpedo, Yugra, Sochi, Dinamo Riga, Avangard | 36 |
Gareth Tenby