The Florida Panthers took Russian goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk in the fifth round (152nd overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft after they selected forward Mackie Samoskevich and defensemen Evan Nause and Vladislav Lukashevich earlier in the event, which was held remotely due to the pandemic.
During his draft year, Germasimyuk appeared in 27 games with SKA-Varyagi St. Petersburg of the MHL. The 17-year-old recorded a 14-13-0 record, .931 save percentage, 2.59 goals against average and four shutouts. Gerasimyuk also played up a tier in five games for SKA-Neva St. Petersburg (VHL), going 2-3 and posting a .913 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average. On the international stage, he earned a Silver Medal representing Russia at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship.
The next season saw Gerasimyuk spend the entirety of his time in the MHL playing against his peer group. He went 1-3 with a .882 save percentage and 3.97 goals against average with SKA-Varyagi. A move to SKA-1946 St. Petersburg saw him excel, as he posted a 16-0-1 record, .932 save percentage, 1.79 goals against average and three shutouts. He appeared in three postseason games (going 1-1) as the club won the Kharlamov Cup.
In 2022-23, he fashioned another fine season for SKA-1946, again posting a dazzling .932 save percentage to go along with a= 15-4-4 record, 1.82 goals against average and two shutouts. He also appeared in a pair of VHL games with SKA-Neva, going 0-0-1 with .926 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average.
The 2023-24 season saw Gerasimyuk go 9-3-1 with three shutouts for SKA-1946 in the regular season. He posted junior career-bests with a .953 save percentage and 1.56 goals against average. In the MHL playoffs, he appeared in five games, going 3-0 with a .936 save percentage, 1.99 goals against average and one shutout as SKA-1946 captured another Kharlamov Cup. He lost his two VHL starts for SKA-Neva. His goals against average in those two games was 4.56 and his save percentage .885. He redeemed himself in the VHL playoffs, going 2-2 in five appearances while recording a .949 save percentage and 1.61 goals against average. Both of those numbers were tops in the league, albeit in a small sample size.
Last year, Gerasimyuk spent the entire season in the VHL. He appeared in 24 contests with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk, recording a .933 save percentage, a 1.75 goals against average and three shutouts while going 7-8-7. He also was between the pipes in eight games with SKA-Neva, posting a 5-1-1 record, a .924 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average. He appeared in two playoff games with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk, going 1-0 with a .789 save percentage and 6.30 goals against average.
Gerasimyuk came to North America this summer to sign a two-year, entry-level contract with the Panthers and attend the club’s development camp in Ft. Lauderdale. The well-seasoned keeper will spend the 2025-26 season with the Charlotte Checkers, where he battle for playing time with fellow prospect Cooper Black and veteran free agent signing Brando Bussi.