Two Olympic champions and grandson of Bilyaletdinov: which of the Russian newcomers will begin to conquer the NHL next season

Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild)

For several years, the arrival of Kirill Kaprizov was the most anticipated in the NHL. The Minnesota Wilde chose him in the fifth round of the draft in 2015, which was a rather unexpected move. Over the past seven years, the club has not had a single domestic player, so it can be safely called one of the most “non-Russian” in the entire league. But pretty soon it became clear that the bet on the native of Novokuznetsk was correct. Soon Kaprizov became one of the leaders of Salavat Yulaev and twice led the youth team to the World Cup medals.

Minnesota fans were waiting for the attacker back in 2017 (then he was 20 years old), but he signed a three-year contract with CSKA. Even after winning the Olympics, which was another reason to stay in Russia, Kaprizov was in no hurry overseas. The “Wild” general managers have been trying all this time to convince him to arrive early, especially since in 2019 the striker reached another goal - he became the owner of the Gagarin Cup. But the striker worked through the agreement to the end and only now decided to start a career in the NHL.

Kaprizov Countdown: 0

NEWS: The #mnwild announced the club has signed forward Kirill Kaprizov to a two-year, entry-level contract starting with the 2019-20 season.

Welcome to the #StateOfHockey, @KaprizovKirill! 🖋

🗞 »https://t.co/skdkSkKPd7pic.twitter.com/ZhHJgaYWa7

True, the Minnesota fans, who have been making plans for Kaprizov for three years, will now have to wait a few more months. Like all other newcomers, he was not allowed to make his debut in the Stanley Cup draw starting on August 1. Vagaries will be able to come to the location of the team and start training with her, but there will be no help in the play-in against the Vancouver Canucks. Forward will play for the “Wild” only in the next season, which will begin no earlier than December.

But for Minnesota, even such an option would be a long-awaited salvation. For all 20 years of its existence, this club has not achieved any significant success and did not even have a really bright star in its composition. Until now, the record for success in the regular season belongs to Marian Gaboric, who scored 83 (42 + 41) points in 2008. “Wild” really lacks a bright and strong striker, able to turn the club from the middle peasant into something more. It was Kaprizov, the author of the golden puck in the finals of the Olympics, who could become such a player.

In the late debut of Kaprizov there will be one plus - he will get more time to adapt, which is especially important when it comes to the distant Minnesota from both coasts. In addition, during the current playoffs, he will burn out the first year of a rookie contract, and after just one season in the NHL he will be able to sign an agreement with a decent salary.

Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders)

Goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin will be another Olympic champion in the NHL. He signed two contracts for the current and next seasons with the New York Islanders. The goalkeeper will earn $ 1 million, after which he will again have to decide where to continue his career.

#Isles Transaction: Ilya Sorokin has agreed to terms on a future one-year contract for the 2020-21 season. https://t.co/B5J7IbSimc

Sorokin’s departure to the NHL was not absolutely expected. His former club, CSKA, was trying hard to keep his main goalkeeper at home, offering a much more solid salary than he could get overseas. However, the 26-year-old hockey player still decided that he had already proved himself enough at home, and now it was time to try his hand at the club, which six years ago chose him in the third round of the draft.

Sorokin will not only not have a high salary and playing practice until December, but also the guarantee that he will go on the ice in NHL matches. The Islanders already have two fairly strong goalkeepers - this is Semyon Varlamov and Thomas Griss, who has a very solid contract, whose agreement with the club expires in a year. Together, they perfectly shared the playing time, and Sorokin in their company may be superfluous, so it is not worth excluding his reduction in the AHL. However, a native of Mezhdurechensk is the best goalkeeper in Russia to try to change the situation in his favor.

Interestingly, although Sorokin left his homeland, now his chances of playing for the national team will be higher. Traditionally, the coaching staff at the world championships relies on the NHL goalkeepers, and although Sorokin was the best in the KHL, he was limited to the role of the third goalkeeper. He was not the first number even at the Olympics, and for a player of his level this could not but be a cause for irritation. Now, if Sorokin manages to linger overseas, then inviting him to the World Championships will no longer be just as an extra, and this may become an additional motivation.

Alexander Romanov (Montreal Canadiens)

Alexander Romanov will also begin to conquer the NHL next season. The grandson of Zinetula Bilyaletdinov signed a three-year rookie contract with Montreal Canadiens, in which one year will burn out very soon. However, unlike Kaprizov and Sorokin, it’s too early for Romanov to think about a decent reward - a 20-year-old defender goes overseas in the first place in order to continue to become a master at an adult level.

The Canadiens and Alexander Romanov have finalized the defenseman's entry-level contract details. # GoHabsGohttps: //t.co/O9w1wog8Lp

This dear Romanov has already gone to CSKA. He became one of the main defenders of the red and blue last season and is uniquely the best young defense player in the country. He could very well continue to play in Russia and gain experience, but the “Montreal” just had an ideal situation in order to try to declare himself in the NHL right now.

The Canadiens were in dire need of an extra left back, and Romanov’s candidacy was right for them. If the club does not make new acquisitions, then the Russian will be completely capable of being immediately in the third pair and even dreaming of the second - there are no 100% hockey players for this position in Montreal yet. Of course, you need to understand that they won’t give time to swing Romanov even taking into account their age, but he should be ready for this.