Draftee Stepan Shurygin learns more than goaltending from scout Jared Waimon

Tampa Bay Lightning goalie scout Jared Waimon was key in the organization’s selection of Stepan Shurygin with the 186^th overall pick at the 2026 NHL Draft. Now, he’s helping the netminder from Samara, Russia, beyond the crease.

Waimon spent this offseason meeting with the goalie virtually, blending lessons in goaltending with teaching the English language.

Shurygin couldn’t attend development camp in July due to the distance between Russia and Tampa. Waimon still found a way for the Saginaw Spirit goalie to keep developing from afar.

“I wanted to continue to make a connection with him because we weren’t going to be able to get him to development camp, and I really wanted him to know we’re excited to have him,” Waimon said. “And I also wanted to make sure he maintained the English he knows.”

One of Waimon’s friends, Parker Carroll, is a goalie coach who is currently learning to speak Russian. Suddenly, Waimon saw a perfect opportunity.

Waimon, Carroll and Shurygin held weekly virtual meetings, talking through video clips of goalie work while mixing in chats about everyday life, too. Sometimes that conversation was held in English, and other times they talked back and forth in Russian.

“We’d have small talk with what’s going on in his training and his life with friends and such, and same with us. Parker would speak in Russian, and Stepan would correct him. Then Stepan would speak in English, and I would try to help him and Parker would try to help him back in Russian and we’d go back and forth.

“I think all three of us really started to look forward to the calls, and we were kind of bummed when they ended with the season starting up. The big goal was to make sure he kept the English that he had and pick up on some more technical words so when he came to prospect camp and back to Saginaw, he was going to be a little bit better with some of the technical words as well as some of the technical things in the position and the game.”

Waimon said Shurygin’s English has improved at least a letter grade along with his willingness and confidence to speak the language.

“He’s helped me a lot with my English, and I talk to him every week,” Shurygin said of learning from Waimon. “He’s a really good guy, so it’s been very good for me.”

Waimon has worked for the Lightning since 2019. This marked the first time he combined hockey with teaching language.

“The hockey stuff usually works itself out through maturity, repetition and experience. Being a goalie is hard, playing in the OHL is hard. Working to one day play in Syracuse and then in Tampa, that’s hard,” Waimon said. “If we can find a half-hour a week to make him feel a little bit better about all of those hard things and understand a little bit more, that’s only going to make him more comfortable, and anyone who feels more comfortable is going to be more confident.”

‘I’m just really excited to be here'

Shurygin is on this week’s prospect showcase roster for Tampa Bay, his first in-person experience with the organization.

“It’s a team I really like,” he said, “and I’m just really excited to be here.”

Shurygin was busy in net during his draft year, leading the Ontario Hockey League in games played (59) and saves (1,704). 

Waimon applauded Shurygin’s ability to stay focused across such an active season.

“The tangible things are very clear in his frame, and he’s very athletic,” Waimon said. “I found him to be highly competitive, and I really respected how often he played and the workload that he took on and how well he managed that with his work ethic and compete last season.”

The 19-year-old finished his first season in North America with a 24-27-7 record and .888 save percentage. It came with a learning curve—both in hockey and culture—but that didn’t bother Shurygin.

 “I’m just trying to stop every puck, that’s all,” Shurygin said. “It was a hard season with a lot of games, and I saw a lot of pucks. It was a really good opportunity for me.”

The goalie will play at the prospect showcase before heading for another season with Saginaw in 2026-27, and Waimon expects another strong year from the youngster.

“For any goalie returning to the same league, you want to see them more comfortable in their patience and their ability to read the play since they’ve been there before. You should be a little more confident in understanding what's developing, and you should be a little more patient and then execute at your best. I think he'll get bigger, he'll get faster, he'll get stronger, and you hope to see that he can assess and read the play and continue his development in that area because he has so many great physical tools.”

Much like the on-ice growth, Waimon expects Shurygin’s English to keep improving. He’s happy to help along the way, too.

“It’s amazing how brave these kids are that come over at 18, 19 years old and step on U.S. soil for the first time having never spoken the language,” Waimon said. “The Lightning care about everybody we have in our organization, and we want to make sure we extend that.”