Flyers prospects Egor Zavragin and Matvei Michkov will unite in the Kontinental Hockey League

The next generation of Flyers stars is now together with another organization.

SKA St. Petersburg announced Thursday that the team has acquired goalie Egor Zavragin from Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk of the Major Hockey League. The Kontinental Hockey League club already is the home for Flyers top prospect Matvei Michkov.

But before you think that Zavragin will be stopping pucks as Michkov scores them on the other end, Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr says there is a good chance Zavragin plays for the organization’s second-tier team.

“Our goalie guys Kim [Dillabaugh, goaltending coach] and Brady [Robinson, goaltender development] have been very excited about him and have spoken to his goalie coaches and agents. So we’ve been in touch with them,” Flahr told The Inquirer. “We’re really excited. Obviously, being in Russia, they do a very good job of producing goalies, as you see in the NHL right now. And the timeline for us makes sense, too, [as] he’s a young kid.”

According to Flahr, who oversees amateur scouting and the draft and currently is in Finland scouting the next crop of prospects at the IIHF U18 World Championships, it’s not a negative for the 18-year-old goalie to see time one step down. SKA St. Petersburg is a powerhouse, a veteran squad, and Zavragin would get more game experience while still facing strong talent.

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It’s also a good spot for the youngster as he builds his game in preparation for joining the Flyers organization in a few years alongside fellow goalies Sam Ersson, Alexei Kolosov, Ivan Fedotov, and Carson Bjarnason.

“Kolosov is a little different than most of these [guys], probably a little smaller in terms of an NHL goalie, but he’s extremely athletic. I think Egor is a little more controlled, but he’s also athletic; he can make the athletic saves,” Flahr said. “[His] positioning and his reads and ability to handle traffic at a young age, playing with men, was really impressive. So just his base right now, where he’s at for getting stronger, more explosive and whatnot is pretty exciting.”

Drafted by the Flyers in the third round in 2023, Zavragin spent the majority of last season playing with Yugra, the Russia club in the second-highest league in the country. He went 13-1-0 with a 1.60 goals-against average, a .943 save percentage, and three shutouts in 17 games. In the playoffs, he won four of eight games and posted a 2.11 GAA and a .933 save percentage. Zavragin also went 6-1-2 with a 1.63 GAA, a .945 save percentage, and two shutouts for the organization’s junior team.

Zavragin, who does not turn 19 until August, was signed for one more year with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk. SKA St. Petersburg said in the announcement that the club signed him to a three-year contract, which means he is a few years away from making his Flyers debut. It’s a timeline that fits perfectly for the Flyers.

“I think, realistically, that was probably what we’re going to be looking at anyway; two, maybe three [years],” Flahr said. “Again, we want to make sure he’s playing, developing. But he’s in good hands there. As far as training and whatnot, they have a state-of-the-art facility there. And, obviously, depending where they put them now ... as long as he’s playing and developing and getting stronger and all those things, he’s in good hands.”

Flahr said Zavragin and Michkov will be invited to development camp, but the Flyers do not expect Michkov to attend with the KHL season beginning a few weeks later. They hope Zavragin will be able to attend the July camp.

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And, despite reports circulating that Michkov could be over as soon as the upcoming season, Flahr said that “not to my knowledge” does he foresee a deviation from the original plan of “the Mad Russian” — as he was nicknamed by John Tortorella this season — joining the team in 2026-27.

Until then, the Flyers can only watch from afar as the future cornerstones develop their games under the SKA St. Petersburg umbrella.

“I‘m sure they’ll be maybe potentially training together this summer and get to know each other, which would be great. But, yeah, those are two players we’re very excited about for the future of the Flyers,” Flahr said. “We’ll have to be patient, and it’ll be a little bit of time, but it’s nice to have them in the pipeline, that’s for sure.”