The Montreal Canadiens moved up to select a forward at 69th, then used the 81st overall selection to claim a defenceman. With those positions addressed, their final pick of the third round at 82nd was spent on a goaltender.
Montreal had several nations represented among their goaltending pool already heading into the draft. Jakub Dobeš of the Czech Republic served as the NHL backup last year, Russian Vevgeni Volokhin was drafted in 2023, and Mikus Vecvanags of Latvia was drafted one year ago. In 2025, Belarusian Arseni Radkov was the choice as the team’s first of two goaltenders selected in the nine-player class.
Birthplace: Mogilev, Belarus
Date of birth: August 5, 2007
Catches: Left
Position: Goaltender
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 194 lbs.
Team: Tyumenski Legion (MHL)
Like Vecvanags, Radkov is a player with a future commitment to head to North America to play in the NCAA, in Radkov’s case with the University of Massachusetts in the 2026-27 season. The Canadiens know they won’t need to be concerned about him signing a string of contracts in Russia and never coming overseas, and will also have the opportunity for more in-person viewings once his collegiate career begins.
Radkov is a bit of a world traveller already, playing in Finland a couple of seasons ago before playing in the Russian Junior system. Outside of a difficult couple of games in the MHL back in 2023-24, he’s typically finished above a .900 save percentage. It wasn’t a strong team he played on in the MHL, with his Tyumenski Legion providing one goal or less of support in six of the 19 games he played this season. You could argue it was good for his development to get a heavy workload in his draft season, which including facing at least 40 shots on five occasions and 70 on January 21 in a 4-3 overtime loss.
He is a raw talent with some promising underlying ski