Originally thought of as a first round talent for the 2017 NHL Draft, Tarasov missed the entire 2016-17 season due to a serious knee injury; which caused him to fall way off in the draft. Eventually, the Jackets took a chance on the big Russian goaltender, picking him in the third round (#86 overall) of that draft.
Tarasov was the seventh goalie taken in the draft, which is not bad considering he hadn’t played hockey in over a year at the time his name was called. Early returns looked very positive for the Jackets as he came back and dominated in Russia’s junior league the next season.