NY Islanders Goalie Prospect Sees Encouraging Jump in Prospect Rankings

One of the best goalie prospects in hockey is in the New York Islanders organization.

Oct 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the logo on the jersey of New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) during the game between the Dallas Stars and the New York Islanders at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

After originally being unranked the year previously, New York Islanders' goalie prospect Dmitry Gamzin has come in at No. 13 on a recent goaltender prospect rankings list.

On Aug. 27, Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff ranked Gamzin at No. 13 across the NHL's 2026-27 goalie prospects. This development comes after the Islanders netminder was originally unranked in the same 2025-26 list. Gamzin was originally drafted by the Islanders in the fourth round in the 2024 NHL Draft. His improvement in prospect rankings comes after he won 22 games and posted eight shutouts in the KHL with CSKA Moskva in 2025-26.

Ellis — who noted that there is no harder position in the sport to analyze than netminders — said part of his ranking has to do with how fascinating it is to watch Gamzin in the net.

"[Gamzin] has quickly established himself as one of the most fascinating goalies outside the NHL," Ellis wrote in his rankings. "He had a 22-10-6 record with eight shutouts and a .938 SV% in his first year as a KHL starter last year ... Gamzin is quick, has good size and is extremely competitive. I think he’ll be a decent NHL backup, but his deal runs until 2028, so you’ll have to be a bit patient with him."

Gamzin would also come in just ahead of Ilya Nabokov of the Colorado Avalanche (at No. 14) and just behind Yegor Zavragin of the Philadelphia Flyers (at No 12).

Who Could Dmitry Gamzin Be for the Islanders?

Gamzin signed a contract extension with CSKA Moscow in Jan. of 2026, with his new deal to last until May 31, 2028.

#Isles prospect goaltender Dmitri Gamzin has signed a two-year extension with CSKA.

Contract to May 31 2028. #KHL pic.twitter.com/aOgiRKU3Cj

— Jeremy Garrett HNH (@HockeyNewsHub) January 12, 2026

Another Russian netminder for the Isles — Gamzin is also among Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov as goalies within the Islanders' franchise who are also from Russia.

Apr 12, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) during the first period against the Montréal Canadiens at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alexander Wohl-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Gamzin was also recently listed as one of the top prospects for the Isles via NHL.com, which noted the fact he led the KHL last year in both goals-against average and shutouts. In addition, he was also second of the League in save percentage, and went 5-5 with a 1.90 GAA and .929 save percentage in 10 playoff games.

Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche also recently commented on Gamzin, saying the franchise does hope to get him to the NHL sooner rather than later due to his high level of promise.

"Hopefully we'll be able to get him over here soon because he's definitely a very high prospect," Darche said.