Yaroslav Askarov's custom-painted blue, gold and white goalie helmet was propped atop his head just enough to reveal the still-incoming, black-with-hints-of-orange beard. Just enough to show the tattoo that creeps up behind his ear, on the right side of his neck. It reads in script, "Last Hope," and is bounded by an angel's wing.

Just enough to show, above his upper lip, hints of a Filip Forsberg-inspired mustache whose whiskers have not yet fully blossomed.

"I think mine's better," the 21-year-old goalie said with a wide smile as he stood outside Centennial Sportsplex after the first day of Predators rookie camp. "Sorry, Fil."

Predators fans might soon get used to seeing Askarov's face. The face of the man who sometimes bench-presses the 125-pound goal on the ice after a victory. The face of the man who on occasion has been known to drop his glove and blocker and go a round or two during a game. The man the Predators picked 11th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft and weren't sure how to spell his first name.

Askarov played last season with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals, for whom he posted a .911 save percentage and 2.69 goals-against average, going 26-16-5 in 48 games. He spent his first season in the United States learning how to be a better hockey player and learning how to speak English and getting more tattoos.

Askarov likely will spend most of this season with Milwaukee again. But his NHL path could be similar to that of another Predators goalie, two-time All-Star Juuse Saros, who spent five-plus seasons serving as an apprentice to Pekka Rinne before earning his shot.

Were Predators trying to trade Yaroslav Askarov?

Askarov's aggression on the ice, his willingness to stray and play pucks, to be unconventional, is equaled by his sense of humor off it.

When asked last week how much he can bench press, Askarov couldn't help himself.

"How much?" he asked, eyeballs looking at the sky as he pondered his response.

"I'm a skinny guy," he continued, offering his fully-tattooed-two-months-ago right arm as proof. "Usually 80, 85 pounds. Not a lot. Look at me."

Plenty of people have, including NHL general managers.

Askarov's name routinely surfaced in trade rumors last summer. Not that the Predators are looking to get rid of him, necessarily.

"I did have Askarov's name out there," new Predators general manager Barry Trotz said. "If you're trying to move up in the draft as far as I wanted to, that's going to take your best prospect. I was going, 'I got good goalies but I could use a young center man that could be dynamic.'

"I had to keep his name out there."

That's all part of the business. Saros has two years at a more-than-team-friendly $5 million per remaining on his contract. Askarov has at least another year to develop.

Trotz said he plans to reach out to Saros' agents about the future after training camp begins this week. For now at least, both goalies will continue on their paths with the Predators organization.

"There's nothing to say that we can't have Saros and Askarov," Trotz said. "You don't have to move one of those guys."

Pain in the neck

Yaroslav Vladimirovich Askarov was willing to endure a little pain in the neck in exchange for the reminder he sees every time he looks in a mirror. That's why he opted to get the "Last Hope" tattoo.

There are two reasons he wanted it.

"Some people only think about God in bad situations," he said, pointing to the wing as he talked. "But it's not correct. You need to think about him all the time.

"Second, it's just a little fun for me the goalie. If a forward makes a mistake, we have defensemen. If defensemen make mistake, we have the goalie. He has a mistake, it's a goal.

'The goalie is the last hope."

The kid from Omsk, Russia, then rolled up the white sleeve on his left arm to reveal a tattoo sleeve.

There rests a giant image of Jesus, along with some other faces. The inside of his arm reveals "The Joker" on a playing card with the words "Why so serious?" in bold below.

Scan down and there's a clock flanked by six playing cards — all spades — in the order of a royal flush, a joker card at the end.

All of it is Askarov being himself.

'We embrace "Asky" fully'

The Predators say they want Askarov to be Askarov, too. They encourage his enthusiasm, his sometimes-unconventional tactics on the ice. They support the player he is and the player they believe he can be. Same for the person.

"People who help us win games and people who have a chance to be in the NHL, we embrace them," Admirals coach Karl Taylor said. "We embrace 'Asky' fully. You never want to push something down where you're starting to hamper their energy.

"You want the energy to grow. . . . Do we steer it sometimes? Sure. We all need correction at times. So we will steer it and make sure it's going in a positive manner."

In return, Askarov said he'll stay dedicated to his craft in the most authentic way he can. He'll continue to be curious.

He explained that he sometimes listens to the same song "50 times in a row." He writes down words and phrases he doesn't understand and looks them up. He loves music, all kinds.

He listens. He learns English.

"I'm so interested in what does it mean?" he said. "Then just listen, listen, listen. Sometimes you have no idea. What's the word? What does it mean?"

The man who has made one emergency start in the NHL, which he learned of the day before.

"First, probably two hours I was so stressed," he said. "Good sleep. Wake up. Good breakfast. Good warmup. After a couple of saves I felt way better.

"It's the same game. Same rules. Same puck. Same guys. Just a different level."

A level Askarov will continue to try to reach for good this season.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Predators: Yaroslav Askarov on tattoos, Filip Forsberg stache