Rising Goalies to Watch at the International Stage

In international hockey, some of the most exciting, memorable performances come from the men wearing the most equipment: goalies. Whether it be Robert Kristian, Cristobal Huet, Edgars Masalskis or Petr Mrazek, it's hard to deny that the position isn't extremely important, especially for smaller countries. Places like Finland or Canada will never have issues developing top talent year in and year out, but for other countries where talent and resources aren't expendable, they have to get creative in developing top end players.

Because of that, each year someone appears out of nowhere to dominate the headlines with a performance that nobody can deny. In some cases, it's the only reason why the team wins a game in a tournament, and for others, it can single handedly win them a tournament. With junior hockey becoming very popular, new crops of goaltenders do a great job of earning respect in IIHF action. With that in mind, let's take a look at a great young crop of goalies you'll likely hear about for a long time coming.

With Mantas Armalis making headlines after signing with the NHL's San Jose Sharks, some people may have thought that Lithuania managed to make a fluke of a netminder. That's far from true, and if Artur Pavliukov has his way, the country will continue to impress in the goaltending department. Pavliukov is still young at just 21-years-old, but he still managed to get named as the top goalie at the Division IB World Championships, an event he managed to win silver at. For a first time competitor at the men's competition, he was very stellar, going against all odds to deliver a miracle performance for his country. Most expected Lithuania to play to stay alive in the division, so grabbing a second place result was more than impressive.

Before getting the nod to play for the men's team, Pavliukov backstopped Lithuania to another incredible underdog run at the 2014 Under-18's. Coming in as the fifth rank team in a six team tournament, the country finished strong enough to win three out of their five games to earn promotion to Division IB for the first time in three years. Pavilukov only plays in the Lithuanian league, but he did get named the top goalie of the league playoffs after a great run with the Hockey Punks Vilnius.

Speaking of countries with emerging goalies, how about Latvia? Edgars Malsalskis had a tremendous World Championship run last year, but the future between the pipes looks even better. Elvis Merzlikins may very well be the best option, stealing the headlines away from Kristers Gudlevskis in recent years. Merzlikins was a star at the Spengler Cup in December, leading HC Lugano to the finals before eventually losing to Canada in a comeback effort. A third-round draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2014, Merzlikins is a very athletic puck-stopper that won the rookie of the year and most improved player honours during his debut NLA season two years ago.

The top goaltender at the 2011 Division IA Under-18 World Juniors (which saw him lead Latvia to a gold medal), Merzlikins was impressive in his first full season as a starting goaltender for Lugano after splitting the season with Daniel Manzato in 2014-2015. His experience with Latvia internationally is extensive already, but at 22, he's finally getting his first chance to really represent his country at the men's level at the upcoming World Championships.

Matiss Edmunds Kivlenieks is another strong Latvian goalie option, dominating the junior scene as of late. In fact, Kivlenieks was named the top goaltender at the past two Under-20 Division IA World Juniors, helping his country earn promotion to the top division for 2017 after getting named Latvia's MVP. His first real experience with Latvia came at the 2013 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Romania, a tournament that saw Kivlenieks keep his team involved despite an eventual fifth place finish.

Since then, the Coulee Region Chill (NAHL) puckstopper has flown through the ranks, playing at every junior level possible as the national team's starting goalie. While he's still 19, he does have a few years away before he has a chance to make the men's World Championship team, but signs are pointing towards Kivlenieks becoming the nation's next top puck stopper. He's committed to Minnesota State University for 2017, so if you don't know much about him yet, you'll hear about him soon enough.

If you followed the Divsion IB World Championships this year, you most likely will remember the exploits of Eduard Zakharchenko, the top goaltender of the event. Zakharchenko posted a .954 SP and 1.21 GAA, which is impressive for anyone at any level. But to do that against solid competition at just 20-years-old makes it even more exciting. Ukraine has never been known for their goaltending, with Konstantin Simchuk potentially being one of the better known goalies around the world, despite never really achieving much success at a high level.

Ukraine has struggled in recent years to get back to the top division, something they used to be able to do on a constant basis. But with political issues and players unable to participate in various tournaments, growth has been very slow. That's where Zakharchenko has the potential to become a stepping stone in the right direction for the country that earned promotion back to Division IA for 2017. The NHL is seeing a lot more goalies in unconventional areas getting chances these days, and it wouldn't be unrealistic to think that Zakharchenko could be on his way to the league somewhere in the next ten years.

Yes, Austrian league club Alba Volán Székesfehérvár isn't exactly a hockey world power. But Miklós Rajna is a rising name for Hungary and should be on display when he acts as the starting goaltender for the country at the top division of the 2016 World Hockey Championships. In fact, Rajna outplayed long time national team goalie Zoltán Hetényi, who was once a member of two ECHL clubs, in Székesfehérvár this year.

Rajna is a three time medalist for the men's team and won of the three types of medals during three separate Under-18 World Championships, only to get a silver at the Under-20 level. While Rajna has never won a major personal award at the international level, he was a big part as to why Hungary grabbed the silver medal at the Division IA tournament last year to help his country get promoted for the first time since 2008. At 24, Rajna has a long time to shine in Hungarian colours and should be noticed throughout his play in the preliminary round of the World's in Russia this year.

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