Sharks No. 1 Goalie Made Changes To Training, Learned To Swim

As the San Jose Sharks begin the 26-27 NHL season with playoff aspirations, they need their No. 1 goalie, Yaroslav Askarov, to own the net.

The 24-year-old played his first full season in the NHL last season, and it was a roller coaster. He showed flashes of brilliance, with an 8-2-0 record, a .944 save %, and a 1.88 GAA in November 2025. But he also struggled, as shown by his final-season numbers. The Sharks goalie finished the season with a 3.63 GAA and an .884 save %.

One big positive for the San Jose Sharks goalie was his health. Since coming to North America, Askarov has struggled with injuries, but that wasn’t the case last season. Even with a full bill of health, Askarov told reporters Friday that he adjusted his offseason training to build conditioning, strength, and explosiveness. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky also noted that the added 10 pounds of muscle will help prevent injuries.

“Injury prevention as well. Obviously, he’s been nicked up, with some lower body stuff,” Warsofsky said. “Adding strength can really help conditioning-wise. Being able to handle the number one load is a lot. You got to be able to practice. You’ve got to be able to play. Just getting his body prepared, he’s probably done the best job that I’ve seen in his career.”

Along with his adjustment in the gym, Askarov told reporters that he changed some of his nutritional habits and got a new goalie coach back in Russia.

“I’ve changed my summer routine a little bit. Got a new goalie coach back home. New strength trainer off the ice, as well. I changed my nutrition a little bit,” Askarov said. “I don’t want to [say] like [this was some big change] now, just feel a little bit more ready.”

Although English is still Askarov’s second language, the goalie gave reporters some great content in response to a question. When asked what he’s been working on with San Jose Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer, Askarov said he needed a visual aid. So that is exactly what he did.

Askarov’s personality has always been there, and it showed up in a big way on Friday.

Askarov learned to swim in his free time

Swimming is great summer exercise for athletes to build conditioning and even rehab certain injuries. For Askarov, it was learning how to do it in the first place.

Askarov says that before this summer, he didn’t know how to swim other than the classic doggy paddle.

“I’ve been learning to swim this summer. That’s the highlight,” Askarov said with a smile. “I’ve been swimming like a dog before. [I learned at] a professional facility with a coach because the weather in St. Petersburg wasn’t good this summer. A lot cloudy, not sunny.”

Coach Warsofsky has big hopes for his No. 1 goalie this season, but he’s got to be consistent if he wants to become the bona fide No. 1 netminder.

“We want to see him save the puck,” Warsofsky smiled. “Of course we want to see him string some games together. We saw him last year in November. Had some good stretches, but we want to see a guy that really jumps and takes the number one job and runs with it and develops in that way.”

With a shorter preseason and training camp, Askarov may only get one preseason game this year. That won’t phase him, however, as he said the team took the captain’s skates like true professionals.