Anton Khudobin

Anton Valerievich Khudobin (; born 7 May 1986) is a Kazakhstani-born Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender.

Nicknamed "Dobby", Khudobin was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round, 206th overall, at the 2004 NHL entry draft, playing for the organization for three-and-a-half years before joining the Boston Bruins via a trade in 2011. He signed as a free agent with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2013 and was extended before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2015, then re-signing with the Bruins in mid-2016, and then signing a two-year deal with the Dallas Stars as an unrestricted free agent.

Playing career Early career Born to a Kazakh father of Russian descent, Valeri, and a Russian mother, Tatiana, Khudobin began his hockey career in his native Kazakhstan but moved to Russia at age 13 and joined the Metallurg hockey school in Magnitogorsk in order to develop his game at a higher level. He was a consistent starter for Russia's national junior squads, earning a gold medal with the under-18 team at the 2004 IIHF World U18 Championships and silver medals with the junior team at the 2005 and 2006 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. At the end of this 2003–04 hockey season, Khudobin was drafted by the Minnesota Wild at the 2004 NHL entry draft in the seventh round, 206th overall.

Khudobin then played as a backup for Metallurg before deciding to move to North America and play in the Canadian major junior hockey system. He opted to join the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the 2005–06 season, helping them to their best regular season finish in over a decade and backstopped them past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in six years.

In 2006, Khudobin returned to Russia and took over back-up goaltending duties for Metallurg in the Russian Superleague (RSL), helping the team to the league championship. In the summer of 2007, however, three years after initially being drafted, Khudobin signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Wild.

Minnesota Wild Khudobin spent the following season splitting time between the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Houston Aeros and the ECHL's Texas Wildcatters, earning top ECHL goaltender honors for 2007–08. In 2009–10, he made the full-time jump to the Aeros and later made his NHL debut for the Wild on 4 February 2010, replacing the injured Josh Harding in a 4–2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. He made his first NHL start two days later on 6 February 2010, stopping 38 of 39 shots in a 2–1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Following a 24 September 2010, pre-season hip injury to Harding, the Wild's full-time back-up goaltender, Khudobin was expected to take over that role for the Wild. However, the Wild instead signed José Théodore to a one-year contract, leaving Khudobin in the number-three position. Soon after the signing Khudobin was returned to Houston. Khudobin was recalled by the Wild on 8 January 2011 to back-up Théodore after starter Niklas Bäckström suffered a strained hip flexor. On 12 January, Théodore suffered a similar injury, and Khudobin replaced him in the third period of a 5–1 loss to the Nashville Predators. After a 4–1 loss to the visiting Colorado Avalanche on 14 January, Khudobin posted his first career NHL shutout, making 32 saves in a 4–0 win over the visiting Vancouver Canucks.

Boston Bruins

Nearing the 2011 NHL trade deadline, Khudobin was traded to the Boston Bruins on 28 February 2011 in exchange for Jeff Penner and Mikko Lehtonen. Khudobin was then assigned to the AHL's Providence Bruins. Khudobin played in 16 games for the Providence Bruins, posting a 9–4–1 record with a 2.40 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. As a result of his strong season, he was called up as an emergency goalie for Boston during their 2011 Stanley Cup playoff run. He was included in the team's celebratory picture after Boston won in the 2011 Final and was also awarded a Stanley Cup ring for his inclusion in the squad. However, due to the fact that he did not play for Boston during the 2010–11 season, his name was not engraved on the Stanley Cup.

On 1 July 2011, Khudobin signed a new two-year contract with the Bruins. While playing in Providence, Khudobin suffered an injured wrist during a game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and was unable to replace Tuukka Rask at the NHL level when he was injured in March. Khudobin needed nearly a month to recover and rejoined the AHL's line on 23 March for a game against the Manchester Monarchs. As Rask was expected to miss 4–6 weeks, Khudobin was immediately assigned to the Bruins' lineup. He played his first game with the Bruins that night on 5 April 2012, earning a win against the Ottawa Senators.

He later served as backup to Tuukka Rask during the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season.

Carolina Hurricanes

On 5 July 2013, the Carolina Hurricanes signed Khudobin as a free agent to one-year, one-way contract paying $800,000. His early start with the team began slowly after suffering an ankle injury on 13 October against the Phoenix Coyotes, resulting in a temporary conditioning stint in the AHL. Despite this, in his first year with the team he posted a 13–8–0 record with 2.17 goals-against average and .927 save percentage over 22 games. By January, he was named the NHL's First Star for the month after tying a franchise record for wins in a month with 10 and registering a goals-against average of 2.19 in 14 games. At the conclusion of the season, the Hurricanes President and General Manager Jim Rutherford re-signed him to a new two-year, $4.5 million contract, saying "he has played well this season and signing him helps solidify our team's goaltending situation."

During the 2014–15 season, Khudobin battled against Cam Ward to solidify his spot as the Hurricanes starting goaltender. After the firing of coach Kirk Muller and the hiring of David Marcoux as their newest goaltending coach, the two began to split the starting position. Marcoux said that he sees "it as two goaltenders who want to be part of the solution here...I appreciate their work and their positive attitudes, and both goalies are supportive of each other."

Anaheim Ducks On 27 June 2015, the second day of the 2015 NHL entry draft, Khudobin was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenceman James Wisniewski. He made his first start with the team on 14 October against the Arizona Coyotes, replacing starter Frederik Andersen. When speaking on his decision, coach Bruce Boudreau said his strong preseason was enough to earn a starting position in an early game. His debut game lasted less than 13 minutes as he was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots. He was replaced by Frederik Andersen following the third goal and the team eventually lost 4–0. The Ducks remained winless for the first five games of the season until 18 October when he started his second game and stopped 34 saves in an eventual 4–1 win over the Minnesota Wild. He played in eight games for the Ducks, posting a 3-3-0 record and 2.70 goals-against average, before being reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls on 15 December.

During his reassignment to the Gulls, Khudobin posted a 4-4-1 record with a 2.60 GAA and .911 SV% in eight games before earning his first recall on 17 January 2016 to replace an injured Clayton Stoner. He earned another NHL recall on 14 February and served as back up to Andersen in back-to-back games before being sent back to the Gulls.

Return to Boston As a free agent at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season with the Ducks, on 1 July 2016, Khudobin signed a two-year contract to return to the Boston Bruins. He began the season as Rask's backup but after the former suffered an injury, he started two games for the team and posted a 0–2–0 record with a .849 save percentage and 4.10 GAA. On 24 October, Khudobin suffered an upper-body injury and was expected to miss three weeks to recover.

Khudobin returned to the Bruins for the 2017–18 season but suffered an injury during training camp which kept him out of the lineup. Although he missed practice, coach Bruce Cassidy said it was "nothing major" and he was expected to start in net by the final preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Dallas Stars On 1 July 2018, Khudobin joined his fifth NHL club as a free agent, agreeing to a two-year, $5 million contract to assume backup duties for the Dallas Stars. When speaking of the addition, General Manager Jim Nill spoke highly of the goaltender saying "Anton is a proven NHL netminder that gives his team a chance to win every time he's on the ice...We look forward to him joining our club and making a positive impact for the next two seasons." He designed his Dallas Stars goaltender mask with Dobby from Harry Potter as a homage to his nickname Dobby. During the pre-season, Khudobin split his time in net with rookie goaltender Colton Point who was making his NHL debut out of college. Confined to a backup role for the majority of the season, Khudobin made his third start for the Stars on 1 November 2018, in a 2–1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs and his fourth on 5 November against the Boston Bruins. As the Stars pushed to qualify for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs, both Khudobin and Ben Bishop were praised for their goaltending abilities by coach Jim Montgomery. By February, he ranked fourth in goals-against averages and third in save percentage while posting a 9–9–2 record. With his assistance, the Stars qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2016 after he made 32 saves in a 6–2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on 3 April. He finished the regular season with a 16–17–5 record, a 2.57 goals against average, and a .923 save percentage.

Khudobin returned to the Stars for the 2019–20 season, entering the final year of his two-year contract. He concluded the shortened season ending in March due to COVID-19 with an 11–7–1 record and tied for fourth with Ben Bishop in save percentage at .929.

On 9 October 2020, Khudobin signed a three-year, $10 million contract to remain with the Stars.

On 13 December 2021, with the goalie tandem of Braden Holtby and Jake Oettinger providing stellar play in net, the Stars waived Khudobin with two years and $7.05 million guaranteed left on his contract. He later cleared waivers and was assigned to the Texas Stars of the AHL.

Chicago Blackhawks On 2 March 2023, the Stars traded Khudobin along with a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Max Domi and Dylan Wells.

Return to Russia Having concluded his contract with the Blackhawks, Khudobin signed as a free agent with Russian second tier club, Sokol Krasnoyarsk of the VHL, on 5 September 2023. During the 2023–24 season, in November 2023, Khudobin was traded to Sibir Novosibirsk of the KHL in exchange for cash considerations, and made 5 appearances with the club.

On 6 August 2025, having not played competitively for two years, Khudobin officially announced his retirement from professional hockey after 20 seasons.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2005–06 Saskatoon Blades WHL 44 23 13 2 1373 114 4 2.90 .917 10 4 6 685 32 0 2.80 .920 2006–07 Metallurg Magnitogorsk RSL 16 — — — 618 28 0 2.72 — 3 — — 26 1 0 2.30 — 2007–08 Texas Wildcatters ECHL 27 20 1 4 1549 51 3 1.98 .934 9 5 2 547 20 1 2.19 .933 2007–08 Houston Aeros AHL 12 2 2 1 482 16 1 1.99 .911 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Florida Everblades ECHL 33 18 10 1 1706 77 4 2.71 .907 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Houston Aeros AHL 10 3 6 1 512 26 0 3.04 .892 17 8 8 890 30 2 2.70 .900 2009–10 Houston Aeros AHL 40 14 19 4 2247 91 4 2.43 .907 — — — — — — — — 2009–10 Minnesota Wild NHL 2 2 0 0 69 1 0 0.87 .979 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Houston Aeros AHL 34 19 12 1 1883 81 1 2.58 .911 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 4 2 1 0 189 5 1 1.59 .942 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Providence Bruins AHL 16 9 4 1 901 36 1 2.40 .920 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Providence Bruins AHL 44 21 19 3 2597 113 2 2.61 .919 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Boston Bruins NHL 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 .977 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Atlant Moscow Oblast KHL 26 6 14 4 1499 74 1 2.96 .912 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Boston Bruins NHL 14 9 4 1 803 31 1 2.32 .920 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 36 19 14 1 2084 80 1 2.30 .926 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Charlotte Checkers AHL 2 1 1 0 119 6 0 3.03 .928 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 34 8 17 6 1920 87 1 2.72 .900 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Anaheim Ducks NHL 9 3 3 0 354 16 1 2.69 .909 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 San Diego Gulls AHL 31 19 8 4 1807 74 0 2.46 .921 4 2 1 185 7 0 2.26 .934 2016–17 Boston Bruins NHL 16 7 6 1 885 39 0 2.64 .904 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 Providence Bruins AHL 11 7 3 1 626 28 2 2.69 .896 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 Boston Bruins NHL 31 16 6 7 1781 76 1 2.56 .913 1 0 0 27 0 0 0.00 1.000 2018–19 Dallas Stars NHL 41 16 17 5 2220 95 2 2.57 .923 1 0 0 11 0 0 0.00 1.000 2019–20 Dallas Stars NHL 30 16 8 4 1678 62 0 2.22 .930 25 14 10 1493 67 1 2.69 .917 2020–21 Dallas Stars NHL 32 12 11 7 1795 76 3 2.54 .905 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Dallas Stars NHL 9 3 4 1 463 28 0 3.63 .879 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 Texas Stars AHL 6 2 4 0 353 15 0 2.55 .903 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Texas Stars AHL 24 13 4 4 1329 64 0 2.89 .899 — — — — — — — — 2022–23 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 1 0 1 0 60 6 0 6.00 .786 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Sokol Krasnoyarsk VHL 11 6 5 0 654 25 2 2.29 .929 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 5 0 2 1 235 11 0 2.81 .900 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 260 114 92 33 14,362 603 11 2.52 .916 27 14 10 1,530 67 1 2.63 .919

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2004 Russia WJC18 6 4 0 2 360 13 0 2.17 .915 2005 Russia WJC 5 3 2 0 264 12 0 2.73 .901 2006 Russia WJC 5 4 1 0 300 11 0 2.20 .933 2015 Russia WC 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0.00 1.000 Junior totals 16 11 3 2 924 36 0 2.31 .927 Senior totals 1 0 0 0 4 0 0 0.00 1.000