2022-23 Arizona Coyotes: Reviewing the Goaltenders

In this week’s final edition of offseason player/position reviews, we take a look at the goaltenders. The Coyotes ended the 2022-23 season with three different goalies on the roster: Karel Vejmelka, Connor Ingram, and Ivan Prosvetov. With two of the three currently listed on the roster for next season (Prosvetov issued a qualifying offer) and a slew of new goalies taken during the 2023 NHL Draft (Michael Hrabal, Melker Thelin, and Carsten Musser), the Coyotes have solidified their goaltending depth, one of their weaker areas. Let’s take a look at last season’s trio of netminders and what to expect ahead of next season.

Karel Vejmelka

The guy no one expected to be the Coyotes’ starter two seasons ago now enters his third year in the league as the team’s main man. Vejmelka, the 27-year-old Czech goaltender is coming off his sophomore season in which he went 18-24-6 with a 3.41 goals-against average (GAA) and a .900 save percentage (SV%). While his numbers/stats suggest more negatives than positives, he surprisingly has been one of the more talked about netminders in the league in terms of trade interest, and it all started this past year.

At one point last season, the Coyotes seemed destined for a bottom-three finish, cementing their odds to land a top-three draft pick. Ultimately the team hurt themselves by catching lightning in a bottle after the All-Star Break. This was due in part to the strong play of Ingram and Vejmelka, which led to speculation that general manager Bill Armstrong would move one of the two goaltenders for assets, despite many believing Vejmelka was the man to lead the team through their rebuild.

Ultimately the Coyotes did not end up moving one of the two, despite the rumors, and as they enter the 2023-24 campaign, Vejmelka remains the starter, looking to have a breakout season as Armstrong continues to bolster the roster with better defensive help and more offensive firepower. His game has grown over the past two years since coming over from Czechia, but it will need to get better if the Coyotes intend to compete in the Central Division this season.

Connor Ingram

This past season was quite different for Ingram. After spending the last three years with the Nashville Predators organization he was placed on waivers ahead of the 2022-23 season, before the Coyotes picked him up on Oct. 10, 2022. From there he went on to play 27 games for Arizona, posting a record of 6-13-8 along with a 3.37 GAA and .907 SV%. His tenure in the desert came with trade speculation, leading many to believe Ingram would not finish the year in the Valley, or be re-signed during the offseason.

He entered the offseason as a restricted free agent before being re-signed to a three-year extension ultimately signaling the team’s plans to have Prosvetov start the 2023-24 campaign in the American Hockey League (AHL). With Ingram back in the desert for the next three years as Vejmelka’s backup, the Coyotes look to roll with last season’s tandem for the upcoming year. The hope is for Ingram to have a breakout season with the team making moves to be more competitive this year, but that ultimately depends on the Saskatchewan native working on his positioning and playmaking if he intends to keep his backup role.

Ivan Prosvetov

The youngest of last season’s trio was Prosvetov, the 24-year-old Russian netminder who was once expected to be the future starter for the Coyotes. Playing on a make-it-or-break-it deal this past season, he ended up playing seven games, going 4-3-0, with a 3.98 GAA and .880 SV%. Despite the numbers, the organization saw a different version of the young netminder. He had a sharper focus, quicker movement, and a calmer demeanor, which caught the attention of coach André Tourigny.

Despite signs of promise and progression in his game, the Coyotes ultimately will roll into next season with the tandem of Vejmelka and Ingram, while Prosvetov will start the year with the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL to hopefully further develop his game. As the team currently works on a deal after extending a qualifying offer, expect Prosvetov to be waiting on the call if the team starts off the year slow and makes a change at the goalie position.

Final Thoughts

Two critical areas the Coyotes need to see improvement in next season are for one, that the tandem of ‘Veggie’ and Ingram can take a bigger step forward, as the team is expected to be more competitive and will need a reliable goalie who can backstop them to wins. Secondly, the organization needs to see Prosvetov take a major leap forward with his game, especially at the AHL level , where he’s struggled during his career. The Coyotes have a history of revitalizing and jump-starting a goaltender’s career, as they did with Sean Burke, Nikolai Khabibulin, Ilya Bryzgalov, Devan Dubnyk, Mike Smith, and most recently, Darcy Kuemper, and Stanley Cup champion Adin Hill.