It’s one thing for Yegor Zavragin to get run into or be hit during the ups and downs of a KHL season. But you often expect that to happen primarily in games, and sometimes in practice. However, it’s rare that a goalie who was a backup, sitting on the bench minding his own business, was leveled as badly as Zavragin was in a game Friday.
Zavragin, a third-round pick by Philadelphia in the 2023 NHL Draft, was the backup goalie for SKA St. Petersburg as SKA played against Dinamo Minsk. In the first period, with St. Petersburg up 1-0, Dinamo Minsk forward Vitaly Pinchuk received a pass around the St. Petersburg blueline. As he entered the zone, St. Petersburg defenseman Markus Phillips, closed in on him and delivered a good hit, knocking Pinchuk off the puck. Unfortunately, the momentum of the hit, and the speed Pinchuk was going caused him to leave his skates.
It wouldn’t be a huge issue in a North American rink as he would’ve simply ran into the boards and fell. However, with one end of the KHL team benches venturing a few feet beyond the blueline into the defensive zone (in periods one and three), Pinchuk ended up sliding into the St. Petersburg bench. And instead of hitting a stanchion or the curved glass, his momentum carried him beyond the seated skaters on the bench and directly into Zavragin who was in the corner near the sticks.
OH MY! WHAT A HIT 💥#hcSKA defenseman @mphillips_18 sends #DMN Vitali Pinchuk in to the bench area and he takes out #LetsGoFlyers prospect goaltender Yegor Zavragin. 😱 pic.twitter.com/dLUYnGWWk1
— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) December 26, 2025
As you can see, Pinchuk goes full bore into Zavragin who thankfully was wearing his mask. He looked to have taken the brunt of the blow in the upper body, and was bowled over by the forward who also took some punishment from the Phillips hit. Zavragin fell to the ground as those nearby tended to the fallen goaltender. There was no word as to whether Zavragin was injured or got hurt in the freak collision. He didn’t appear in the game today which St. Petersburg won 4-1. Zavragin’s last game action with the club was on Nov. 12 as the team didn’t play any games from Dec. 7. In 11 games with the club, he’s 5-6-0 with a .924 save percentage and a 2.48 goals-against average.
With any luck, Zavragin avoided serious injury that could impede his development. It’s bad enough goalies get injured from getting run over from time to time. But to get clocked while being on the bench as the backup? Give Zavragin a break!
