There really just hasn’t been an impact Russian player coming out of the draft since, really, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin in 2004. Though players like Columbus Blue Jackets’ Nikita Filatov and New York Islanders’ Kirill Kabanov were expected to be high-impact NHLers, the former has yet to make a splash in the big league and the latter has yet to make an NHL debut, after being drafted in June 2010.
But through the recent Canadian League import draft, Russian center Alexander Khokhlachev may be that next impact prospect from that famous hockey country.
Selected 23rd overall in the 2010 CHL Import Draft by the two-time defending Memorial Cup Champion Windsor Spitfires, Khokhlachev has already made an impact on a team whose stars have left for professional hockey. In just five games this season, the 5-foot-10, 172-pound center has posted three goals and three assists in five games for the Spitfires. He also has a plus-2 rating in his Ontario League rookie season. After just two games, Khokhlachev ranked second among all players with points. He currently ranks second in the OHL among rookie skaters in scoring and looks to be a dominant ...
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Article written by Alan Bass
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