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Morning Notes: Draft Prospects, Pokka, Kravtsov

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More than 70 percent of PHR voters believe that Shane Wright is still the top choice for the Montreal Canadiens at the upcoming 2022 NHL Draft, and if you asked Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, he’d agree. Wheeler has Wright in the No. 1 spot on his updated top-100, though does note that he is no longer in a tier above the rest of the field.

Interestingly enough, Juraj Slafkovsky, who overtook Wright on Corey Pronman’s recent list, is much further down Wheeler’s. The big winger isn’t even the top-ranked player from Slovakia, as the prospect prognosticator continues to rank Simon Nemec higher than most of the other publicly available lists. As always, the entire list is worth a read, given how detailed Wheeler dives into some of the lower-ranked names.

  • Highly-ranked prospects don’t always work out though, something the Chicago Blackhawks found our first hand with Ville Pokka, the 34th overall pick in 2012 and a big part of the return for Nick Leddy two years later. Pokka, despite strong offensive numbers in the AHL, never could put together his defensive game well enough to earn an NHL opportunity, and the defenseman left for the KHL in 2018. After four years in Russia, he’s headed to Sweden, where he’ll join Farjestad next season.
  • Vitali Kravtsov, another prospect that hasn’t quite panned out just yet, has apparently turned down an offer from the KHL as he eyes a return to North America. The 22-year-old winger is a pending restricted free agent but will still be under control of the New York Rangers, should they issue him a qualifying offer. In his partial season with Traktor this year, Kravtsov proved he can play to a high level in the KHL, scoring 13 goals and 23 points in a combined 34 games.

Oilers Expected To Terminate Ilya Konovalov’s Contract

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Oilers prospect Ilya Konovalov hasn’t had a great first season in North America and it appears he won’t be getting a second one as Dynamo Moscow’s GM Alexei Sopin told Championat’s Sergei Yemelanov that an agreement is in place to bring the netminder back to the KHL next season.  The move is pending a contract termination from Edmonton which is expected to come once their playoff run comes to an end.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick of Edmonton back in 2019, going 85th overall.  He remained with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL for two seasons after being picked before opting to come to North America for this season.  However, Konovalov was limited to just 17 games with AHL Bakersfield this season, posting a 2.73 GAA with a save percentage of just .893.  He was briefly up with Edmonton on their taxi squad but didn’t get into any NHL action.

This move has been in the works for a while as last month, Dynamo Moscow traded for Konovalov’s rights at the beginning of the KHL’s transactions window.  Assuming the termination goes through as planned which should come sometime later this month, Edmonton will lose Konovalov’s NHL rights but free up a contract slot.  They’d also clear out the logjam in the AHL crease with both Olivier Rodrigue and recent college signing Ryan Fanti already under contract for next season.

Latest On Andrei Kuzmenko

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The waiting game on Russian free agent Andrei Kuzmenko continues, as no decision has been made yet for where he’ll start his NHL career. Thomas Drance said today on Sportsnet radio that he has heard Kuzmenko is now circling back for second interviews, and Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV has heard the same. Dhaliwal tweets that the Vancouver Canucks remain “very very high” on Kuzmenko’s list.

It’s been quite a while since reports first emerged that the 26-year-old winger was considering coming over to North America, and yet his pursuit seemingly hasn’t generated the buzz that some other KHL free agents have in the past. Some of that perhaps is due to the ongoing geopolitical situation that Russia has put itself in but more than that, hockey fans may be starting to get a “fool me once” attitude in these situations.

Over the last several years several free agent forwards have made the jump from the KHL and found little success on NHL ice, though there have also been some successful transitions. Alexander Barabanov and Ilya Mikheyev have both carved out significant roles on this side of the ocean, with the former recently inking a new two-year, $5MM contract with the San Jose Sharks. Mikheyev is also set to hit unrestricted free agency and is looking at a big pay raise after scoring 21 goals in 53 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

When compared to those two, in particular, it’s easy to see why fans should be excited about Kuzmenko. His 2021-22 was better than any season Barabanov or Mikheyev put up in the KHL, as he scored 20 goals and 53 points in just 45 games. His playoff performance was better too, with seven goals and 14 points in 16 games this year for SKA St. Petersburg.

Still, the specters of players like Vadim Shipachyov and Nikita Gusev hang in the air of scenarios like this; elite KHL players who found it very difficult to make the transition to North America and become a consistent NHL presence. Both of those two have had more success in Russia than Kuzmenko likely ever will, earned huge contracts before even playing here, and yet managed a combined 100 games in the NHL.

Whether Kuzmenko lands in column A or column B remains to be seen, but the Canucks and plenty of other teams are willing to find out.

Nikolay Goldobin, Joakim Nordstrom Re-Sign Overseas

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It seems like a long time ago that Nikolay Goldobin was in North America, lighting it up for the Utica Comets. In reality, that was just two years ago and Goldobin isn’t even 27 yet. The former Vancouver Canucks forward won’t be coming back just yet though, as he has signed a new one-year contract extension with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.

The same could be said about Joakim Nordstrom, who played in the NHL even more recently, spending 2020-21 with the Calgary Flames. The Swedish forward won’t be staying in the KHL but has signed a new two-year deal with HC Davos in Switzerland.

Goldobin, 26, was a first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2014, and quickly worked his way to the NHL after putting up strong numbers in the OHL, Liiga, and AHL. By 2017 however, he was on his way to Vancouver in a deadline deal for Jannik Hansen, as the Sharks had their eyes on the Stanley Cup. With the Canucks, Goldobin was quickly given a full-time opportunity in the NHL, even reaching 27 points in 63 games during the 2018-19 season.

But after spending another year nearly entirely in the minor leagues, he bolted for the KHL and the team decided not to qualify him. After a so-so 2020-21, Goldobin was back in the driver’s seat this year, and became one of the most reliable players in the entire KHL. With 39 points in 42 regular season games and then another 18 in 23 postseason contests, he would ave likely been on a few radars around the NHL. He still will be next year, especially if he can provide a repeat performance in 2022-23.

While Nordstrom never had the kind of upside that Goldobin represents, he was a more consistent NHL player. His defense and checking were enough to land him a full-time role for many years, racking up nearly 500 games in the league. After appearing at the Olympics and World Championship for Sweden, he’s off to a new challenge in Switzerland, where a two-year deal will likely remove any thoughts of a return to North America.

KHL Notes: Radulov, Petan, Pasquale

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It’s back to the KHL for Alexander Radulov, or at least that is what appears to be the meaning behind a tweet from last night. Ak Bars Kazan tweeted “What’s in the transfer news?” along with a video clip suggesting that Radulov has signed, and several other reports surfaced that it will be a two-year deal.

Importantly though, nothing has been officially announced at this point and Radulov’s name does not appear in Wednesday’s transfer news. A return to the KHL for the 35-year-old forward certainly would make sense as Radulov’s role with the Dallas Stars was diminished greatly this season, to the point where he barely averaged over 14 minutes a night. The big winger had just four goals and 22 points in 71 games and will be 36 by the time next season begins. If it is the end of his NHL career, he’ll finish with 524 regular season games, 368 points, and the one run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020.

  • Another name that could be heading overseas is Nic Petan, who Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports is in talks with Omsk Avangard. There’s no deal in place, but Petan trying his hand somewhere else would also make sense. The 27-year-old forward has bounced around the last few years and still can’t seem to find a fit at the NHL level, despite outstanding numbers in the minor leagues. In 18 games this season for the Vancouver Canucks, he failed to score a single goal and recorded just two points. (UPDATE: Irfaan Gaffar of The Fourth Period disagrees with Dhaliwal’s report, indicating that there has not been any talks between Petan and a KHL club).
  • Eddie Pasquale, who recently served as one of the goaltenders for Team Canada at the Olympics, is staying in the KHL but with a new team. The veteran netminder saw his contract terminated with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, only to sign a new deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk that will run through 2022-23. Pasquale last appeared in North America during the 2018-19 season, wen he saw three NHL games for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Maksim Sushko Signs In KHL

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Though it went under the radar earlier this month, the Philadelphia Flyers have one less restricted free agent to sign this offseason. Maksim Sushko, a young forward coming off his entry-level contract, has signed with Dynamo Moscow in the KHL.

Sushko, 23, was a fourth-round pick of the Flyers in 2017 and made his NHL debut in the 2020-21 season, playing two games with the big club. After spending all of 2021-22 in the minor leagues, it appears as though he’ll pursue a career overseas instead. Though Sushko spent half a season in the KHL while COVID restrictions were keeping the AHL dark, it isn’t like he is unfamiliar with North American hockey.

The Belarusian forward came over to play in the OHL in 2016 and spent three years with the Owen Sound Attack before jumping directly to the AHL. In fact, this will be the first Russian team he plays for, making this a new experience altogether.

Signed to a two-year deal, he’ll still be young enough to return in 2024 if the Flyers choose to issue him a qualifying offer this summer. That will allow them to retain his exclusive rights as a restricted free agent and potentially allow them to bring him back after receiving playing time in the KHL.

Damir Zhafyarov Re-Signs In KHL

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If you ever looked at the KHL leaderboards and wondered whether Damir Zhafyarov would try his hand in North America, think again. The Russian forward has signed a new two-year deal with SKA St. Petersburg, one that keeps him under contract through April 30, 2024.

Zhafyarov, 28, has been one of the league’s most consistent offensive producers over the past few seasons, including a 61-point campaign in 2020-21 that put him third in the entire KHL. He followed it up with a 45-point 2021-22, good for fourth in the league, and will now join an SKA program known to be competitive every season.

His move from Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, where he had played the last four years, could actually be in response to a different move. SKA is set to lose top forward Andrei Kuzmenko–one of the three players who outscored Zhafyarov this season–to the NHL, as he is expected to sign a contract in the coming weeks. Kuzmenko, who scored 53 points this year, actually has worse overall numbers than Zhafyarov, and had never previously come close to a point-per-game season. He did however lead the St. Petersburg squad this year, meaning they needed to find a high-end replacement for him.

They’ve done so in Zhafyarov, though it remains a mystery whether he ever would have been able to put up strong numbers in North America. Notably, he stands just 5’9″ and is not a physical player, meaning the NHL may have proven too difficult. Either way, he’s now signed to a deal that will take him through his 30th birthday, suggesting a North American career is probably out of the question.

Andrei Svetlakov Re-Signs In KHL

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Usually, a team’s reserve list is limited to young prospects, waiting to sign their first entry-level contract in the years following their draft. Sometimes though, because of the lack of transfer agreement between the NHL and certain other leagues (the KHL and NL most notably), a reserve list also includes a player that is no longer considered a prospect. The rights of these players are held indefinitely if they never attempt a career in North America, and one example is Andrei Svetlakov.

Selected by the Minnesota Wild in the sixth round in 2017, when he was already an overage prospect, Svetlakov remains on the team’s reserve list, with his exclusive rights wrapped up forever. Now 26, Svetlakov has never attempted a North American run, despite plenty of success at the KHL level. That is only going to continue, as the veteran forward has signed a new two-year contract, staying with CSKA in the KHL.

A two-time winner of the Gagarin Cup as a member of the powerhouse CSKA program, Svetlakov was a strong contributor in this year’s playoffs with four goals and nine points in 22 games. Though not usually much of an offensive weapon, he has nevertheless been a reliable two-way option, receiving somewhere between 14 and 16 minutes a night. At this point, an NHL career seems extremely unlikely. If it never happens, he’ll stay on the Wild reserve list until retirement–but he isn’t alone in that category.

The Wild also have 35-year-old Julian Walker on their reserve list, selected in the sixth round of the 2006 draft. He’s spent his entire career in Switzerland and is still signed through next season.

Minor Transactions: 05/25/22

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While the North American focus on hockey remains starkly on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, most European seasons have wrapped up by now. That means a lot of players with NHL pedigrees are involved in some foreign transactions. We’ll keep track of those here today:

  • Defenseman Andrey Pedan, a 2011 third-round pick of the New York Islanders and 13-game NHL veteran with the Vancouver Canucks, is on the move in the KHL. SKA St. Petersburg acquired him via trade today from Dynamo Moskva, meaning Pedan will suit up for his third different KHL team since returning to Russia in 2018. Born in Lithuania, Pedan has Russian citizenship but underwent the majority of his development in North America. He came to join the OHL in 2010 and played professionally exclusively in North America through 2018.
  • Former Minnesota Wild and Washington Capital Casey Wellman announced his retirement today via Instagram. The California native was never drafted but made the jump to the NHL after the Wild picked him as a free agent from UMass in 2010. Before beginning a professional career in Europe in 2015, Wellman appeared in 54 NHL games, scoring six goals, 10 assists and 16 points.

Overseas Notes: Blankenburg, Verbeek, Merkulov

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Nick Blankenburg’s World Championship is over. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports that the Blue Jackets’ rookie defenseman has left Team USA due to injury. Blankenburg sustained a knee injury during the international tournament in Finland and decided to return home. However, Hedger adds that the injury is not supposed to be severe and that Blankenburg’s health by the start of next season is not in doubt. Even with the early exit from the Worlds, Blankenburg has had quite the unforgettable year. The 24-year-old defender had a career season as the senior captain of Michigan, recording 14 goals and 29 points in 38 games en route to a Frozen Four appearance. He then signed with Columbus as an undrafted free agent and proceeded to record three points in seven NHL games down the stretch. Blankenburg earned a spot with Team USA at the World Championship and played in four games with the team. He will look to continue his success streak by winning a regular role with the Blue Jackets next season.

  • Hayden Verbeek’s uncle may be the new GM of the Anaheim Ducks, but the young forward won’t wait around for NHL free agency in hopes of a family deal on a new contract. Verbeek has opted to leave North America altogether and sign a one-year deal with Slovakian club HK Spisska Nova Ves, the team announced. Verbeek is no stranger to Slovakia, having played in the Extraliga early in 2020-21 while awaiting the delayed AHL season. While Verbeek played exclusively in the AHL after returning last year, he did spend some time in the ECHL this season, which could have been the deciding factor in his move overseas. Four seasons into his pro career, including the first three on an NHL contract, Verbeek has played largely in the AHL but has been demoted to the ECHL in three seasons and has seen no NHL action. Looking for a more consistent role in a top league, Verbeek will try his hand again in Slovakia next season.
  • When Georgi Merkulov, a star prospect out of the MHL, left Russia in 2020 to embark on a development path in North America with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms and then the NCAA’s Ohio State Buckeyes, the odds that he would one day star in the KHL slipped. Then-rights holder HK Sochi decided to trade Merkulov to Amur Khabarovsk, doubting that he would ever suit up for the team. When Merkulov surprisingly turned pro after just one college season, signing with the Boston Bruins this spring, those odds fell even further. Amur has now decided to move on as well. KHL powerhouse CKSA Moscow, whose youth system Merkulov developed in, has decided to take a long-term gamble, acquiring the rights to their former prospect, per the KHL. In exchange, Amur received minor league defenseman Ilya Dervuk. Merkulov recorded 20 goals and 34 points in 38 games this season for Ohio State as one of the top freshmen in the NCAA and then added five points in eight AHL games with the Providence Bruins. Boston certainly hopes that this scoring prowess translates to the NHL and that these KHL trades are ultimately meaningless.

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