Nottingham Panthers have signed Ukrainian national team netminder Eduard Zakharchenko.

The 21-year-old played for HK Kremenchuk in his homeland last season, posting a 0.946 save percentage.

He recently represented Ukraine at the World Championship (Division 1A) tournament in Kiev.

Panthers’ boss Corey Neilson said: “He’s going to be good – we’ve talked about having three goalies again with two imports and Sam Gospel on the books.

“Having Henry (Pacl) last year gave us a chance to rest our number one along the way.

“We’ve got another long season ahead and I see Eduard playing a big part in it, firstly by pushing the other netminders and secondly by playing in and winning games for us. He’s keen and he can’t wait to get here.

“He earned great reviews with his national team and his club side last year. I’m confident he will do well with the Panthers.

“Henry became a big fans favourite. He was homesick by the end of the season and we wish him well. He set a trend and I’m sure Eduard is going to grab this opportunity and make it work both for himself and the club.”