NHL Prospects Dealt In KHL Blockbuster

It has been a busy day for Traktor Chelyabinsk and Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. The two teams each made trades with SKA St. Petersburg earlier in the day that at time seemed like independent deals. Magnitogorsk swapped the rights of NHL forwards with SKA, sending Vladislav Kamenev away in exchange for Nikolai Prokhorkin, who is already negotiating with the team. Chelyabinks also sent NHL rights to St. Petersburg, trading away Yakov Trenin, but in return received 22-year-old defenseman Vladislav Semin.

As if that wasn’t enough (potential) star power changing hands, it turns out that those deals were part of an even bigger plan. Semin is on the move again, traded to Metallurg for prospects Pavel Dorofeyev, Dmitri Sheshin, Semyon Buivan, and Gleb Babinstsev. For all intents and purposes, this completed a three-team, eight-player trade.

Of the prospects dealt today, Dorofeyev is certainly the centerpiece. A third-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights last year, Dorofeyev was considered a steal by many as numerous draft boards ranked him as high as the first round. A skilled, versatile forward, some questioned Dorofeyev’s commitment and compete level, which may have send him tumbling down the board. However, he responded this season with 48 games and seven points in the KHL, a tough league for teenagers, and strong numbers on the international stage, including three goals and an assist in seven games at the World Juniors. Dorofeyev seems like the real deal and might be in for a major boost next season as he is expected to take on a key role for a poor Traktor team. How much longer he will remain in the KHL before jumping to the NHL after a potential breakout performance is the real question.

Like Dorofeyev, Sheshin also fell down the draft board in 2019. Except Shehin fell all the way out. A player who many considered to be a lock as a late-round pick, ranked in the fifth round even by some, Sheshin instead went undrafted. Size may have come into play for the 5’8” forward, but his talent exceeds the issues with his stature. He proved that again this season, posting 71 points in 61 games in the junior-level MHL, finishing in the top-five in scoring. Sheshin will re-enter the draft this fall and may have an even better case to be drafted this season, especially with the KHL on the horizon next year for a needy Chelyabinsk club.

Buivan may also be worth noting. The 18-year-old defenseman is preparing for his first go-round in the NHL Draft in 2020. While he has received nowhere near the buzz that Dorofeyev or even Sheshin got last year, Buivan has appeared on some draft boards as having an outside chance of being selected. The move to Traktor could boost his draft stock; Buivan was highly unlikely to see any KHL action next year with Metallurg but Chelyabinsk is a team in need. Buivan recorded 12 points and a +15 rating in the MHL this year and won gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup with Russia.