"He elevates [his game] no matter what the situation is," Bobrov said of the netminder. "I honestly don't remember the last time I saw him have a bad game. He goes in and performs whenever the chance is given."
The 22-year-old is coming off a 24-2-2 regular season with St. Petersburg and finished in the top-10 in shutouts (seven, third in KHL), goals against average (1.70, fourth), save percentage (.933%, sixth).
It was a busy year away from the KHL for Shesterkin, who was part of the gold medal-winning Olympic Athletes from Russia squad, though he did not see any action.
Shesterkin, though, was one of top goaltenders at the 2018 World Championships in Denmark. He finished with two victories - both shutouts - and a 1.46 GAA and a .942 SV%, both of which were the third-best at the event.
"He's extremely efficient," Bobrov said of Shesterkin. "He's very economical in his movements and he controls his rebounds extremely well. He's very athletic and can make multiple saves but he doesn't give other teams those opportunities."
What stands out most for Bobrov is Shesterkin's ability to remain calm in net.
"He's smooth and is a calming influence on the team," he said. "When you see him back there, you know things will be OK. There's very a seldom moment where he bobbles anything. That ability to create that calm environment made him successful."
Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton said Shesterkin has one year remaining on his contract with SKA. But when the time does come for the 2014 fourth-round pick to head to New York, he'll have several familiar faces there with him, including his former teammate Pavel Buchnevich, as well as his current SKA teammate Yegor Rykov, whom the Rangers acquired in February from New Jersey.
"When Rykov got traded … Igor reached out right away and said 'I can't get rid of you,'" Bobrov recalled with a laugh. "Buch also reached out. It's a comradery that's pretty special. They're all about the same age. They all talk. They're all part of the same band."
