Mikhail Yegorov (CAS’28) enrolled at Boston University January 21 and has already started in some of the biggest games of the season. Photo by Matt Woolverton/BU Athletics

Men's Ice Hockey

Five Facts About BU’s Star Freshman, Hockey Goalie Mikhail Yegorov

The University’s chances for the Beanpot championship depend in a big way on the team’s big—6-foot-5—netminder

Update: In the Dunkin’ Beanpot Tournament championship game on Monday, February 10, Mikhail Yegorov starred in net, holding Boston College to one goal as Boston University won the Beanpot 4-1. He was also bestowed the 2025 Eberly Award, given to the goaltender with the highest save percentage across the tournament.

When Mikhail Yegorov enrolled at Boston University on January 21, the tall young goaltender didn’t know how much trust would be placed in him—or how quickly. But after the men’s hockey team lost 6-2 to Boston College on January 24, head coach Jay Pandolfo looked for a change in net. 

Just four days after officially joining the team, Yegorov (CAS’28), who is from St. Petersburg, Russia, was set to start his first-ever collegiate game, against the No. 1 Eagles in the hostile Conte Forum, a game that ended in a tough 2-0 loss.

“I always knew that this rivalry is probably the biggest in college hockey,” says Yegorov, who stands 6 feet, 5 inches. “But just being in this environment and experiencing basically 7,500 people at the rink watching your game, that’s what I was dreaming of.”

In his three games so far as BU’s starting goaltender, Yegorov owns a 1.35 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage. He has allowed only four goals, three of them on the power play. Players and coaches have been quick to commend the team’s newest player for his immediate impact.

“He was great, he was calm, he was composed. He has a confidence and belief in himself,” Pandolfo (CAS’96) said after the February 3 Beanpot semifinal, a 7-1 win over Harvard. “He’s been excellent in three games.”

Here are five things to know about Mikhail Yegorov.

Drafted by New Jersey Devils in the 2024 Entry Draft

Yegorov heard his name called last June 29 in the second round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas. The New Jersey Devils draft pick, selected at No. 49, was the second netminder taken in the draft, behind countryman Ilya Nabokov.

He joined teammates Cole Eiserman (CAS’28), Cole Hutson (CAS’28), and Kamil Bednarik (CAS’28), also taken in last year’s draft. 

Yegorov will now get the opportunity to develop under former Devils Stanley Cup winner Pandolfo at BU. The Devils have provided Yegorov with a mental coach, as well as strategies and tools for his pregame and in-game routine.

“It’s a great organization, and we talked a lot after the draft. It was more connection between us. They helped me a lot,” Yegorov says. “It’s been a long process, and I hope that it’s going to be even longer in the future, and I’m going to eventually go and play in New Jersey and wear this red and black.”

Yegorov will look to join a recent slew of standout Russian goaltenders in the NHL, including Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Yegorov played for the USHL’s Omaha Lancers prior to BU

Before making his way to Comm Ave, Yegorov found himself in Nebraska, playing for the United States Hockey League’s Omaha Lancers. The goaltender first joined the team in 2023, where he posted a .892 save percentage and a 3.86 goals-against average across 43 games.

This season, he took a step up, with a .912 save percentage and a 3.12 GAA. He saved a team-record 66 shots during a game on December 31, 2024. 

The Lancers are currently on a 21-game losing streak, which contributed to the decision for Yegorov to enroll at BU.

“[Omaha has] had their challenges the last couple years for a lot of different reasons, so we thought, even talking with the Devils a little bit too, we wanted to see if we can help him and see what’s the best thing for his development,” Pandolfo said during Beanpot Media Day. “He was facing an average of like 40 to 50 shots a game, which hopefully he doesn’t have to do for us, but he’s seen a lot of puck this year.”

Midseason enrollment at BU is an adjustment, but he’s getting lots of help

Joining a team midway through the season is never easy. Quinn Hutson (SHA’26) says that so far his new teammate has done a great job of overcoming the challenges. Yegorov announced his commitment to BU last February. He chose BU after a visit, saying the rink and the facilities impressed him, and that the high-level education also played an important role. 

Entering BU has been an adjustment, he says, but he’s had plenty of help along the way.

“Everybody’s helping me, and everybody understands that I need some time to adjust, which I really appreciate from them,” Yegorov says. “All the guys helped me a lot. They got me in the team, they treat me really well, as a good old friend.”

Teammate Jack Harvey (CAS’27) says Yegorov has been an anchor for the team in net. “He’s been really steady back there. He’s been good for us,” Harvey said in a postgame press conference January 31. “He’s been making some timely saves when we need him, and I can’t have enough good words to say about him.”

His teammates aren’t the only ones to welcome him. After his first collegiate win, against New Hampshire, Yegorov joined a BU goaltender tradition: enthusiastically jumping into the boards near the Dog Pound.

“I was like, why not? It’s pretty cool. It’s college,” he says. “College sports is all about this connection between fans and people on the ice, because we’re all in one school under one name.”

Yegorov is studying economics and math and says “high-level education” was a big reason for committing to BU

Yegorov’s parents stressed to him that education should be a priority, he says, and it was important for him to go to a college with high-level education and to eventually finish that education. He is majoring in both economics and math at BU—his current course load: Introductory Microeconomic Analysis, Calculus I, Intro to Hospitality, and Intelligence & Homeland Security.

“I studied econ very hard, and I liked all this mathematical plus econ concepts that can be used for real life,” he says. “And I just love math.”

He’s already played in two of BU’s biggest games of the season

Yegorov says he didn’t expect so much trust to be put in him so early in his BU tenure. But four days after he enrolled, he played at Boston College in the biggest rivalry game of the season.

When he left for warm-ups a minute too early, he wasn’t rattled by a rule book quirk that assessed him a penalty for “delaying the game.” He gave up an early power-play goal to the Eagles, then saved the next 23 shots.

“My start of the warm ups was also pretty funny,” Yegorov says. “I was nervous before, and many things were in my head. But after this goal, I think I was like, ‘Okay, this was a goal, and we’re actually playing hockey now.’”

He earned the next start against New Hampshire, winning the game with 19 saves. Next, he got the start in one of the season’s biggest games—the Beanpot semifinal.

“Actually playing in an NHL rink when I’m 18, and experiencing this atmosphere and this great tournament for Boston is just cool,” Yegorov says. “I really appreciate this trust, and all that I can do is just play as much as I can, try to use my opportunities and then look forward to the other game.”

After winning the first Beanpot game with a season-high 26 saves and only one goal allowed, Yegorov now gets a Boston College rematch on the biggest stage of his career: the Beanpot Championship.

“I hope that I’m gonna get [the chance for a BC rematch], and I’ve heard that it’s gonna be an awesome environment, a sold-out Beanpot,” he says. “All I can do is look forward to it, because it’s gonna be really fun. We will try our best, and we’ll see how things fall.”