KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan Acquire Grigori Denisenko

A former first-round pick is on the move overseas. According to a report out of Russia, the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan has acquired forward Grigori Denisenko from the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

After an impressive season with the MHL’s Loko Yaroslavl, which saw Denisenko score nine goals and 22 points in 31 games during the 2017-18 season, the Florida Panthers selected him with the 15th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. He went on to spend another two years with the KHL’s Lokomotiv, scoring 10 goals and 18 points in 63 games, including another one goal and four points in 12 postseason contests.

He was limited in playing time throughout his first two years in North America, managing four assists in eight NHL contests with the Panthers, and 14 goals and 27 points in 45 games split between the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch and Charlotte Checkers from 2020 to 2022. He received much more playing time during the 2022-23 season, scoring 12 goals and 36 points in 56 games with the Checkers.

Denisenko was ultimately claimed on the waiver wire by the Vegas Golden Knights after failing to make the Panthers’ roster out of training camp ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. Outside six appearances with Vegas, Denisenko put together his strongest season in the AHL, scoring 20 goals and 56 points in 65 games with the Henderson Silver Knights, though he failed to make either of the AHL All-Star Teams at season’s end.

It was much of the same this past season for Denisenko, scoring 10 goals and 24 points in 42 games for the Silver Knights to start the season. He was traded in mid-February to the Nashville Predators in exchange for future considerations, and concluded the year with the Milwaukee Admirals without appearing for the Predators. Despite mild improvements to his offensive game, Denisenko’s AHL career produced a dismal -56 rating across 231 games.

Although there’s no official confirmation that Denisenko has or will make the move back to the KHL, he remains without an NHL contract heading into September. If he is unwilling to begin the year in the AHL, which is likely where he would end up if he signs with another NHL team, he would be better off returning to Russia, provided that Ak Bars offers him an opportunity.