I wasn’t expecting Dmitri Buchelnikov to play in Saturday’s SKA St. Petersburg KHL game, and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff confirms that Buchelnikov did not play today, nor did Philadelphia Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov.
SKA is really the KHL’s flagship franchise, and their roster remains almost perpetually stacked, so it’s hard for younger players to earn regular ice time. As Duff suggests, as KHL teams can dress 20 skaters, their youngest players usually earn time as the 13th forward or 7th defenseman.
Right now, Duff wonders whether Buchenlnikov’s time in St. Petersburg will be short:
Buchelnikov’s name is not currently showing on the list of players populating the SKA St. Petersburg roster on the KHL website and there are 20 forwards included on that list. If Buchelnikov is in fact that far down the SKA depth chart, there certainly remains the chance that he will be going on loan to another KHL club. That’s what SKA did last season with the highly-touted Michkov, sending him to play with HC Sochi. Offseason reports from the Russian media have also been linking Buchelnikov with a move to that club.
Last season, Buchelnikov was posting 1-1-2 totals in 10 KHL games for SKA St. Petersburg. He was playing all but two of those 10 games during the first month of the season. He spent the majority of the 2022-23 campaign with SKA-Neva in the VHL, the Russian second division. Buchelnikov was also seeing some time with SKA-1946 in the MHL, the Russian junior league.
The 19-year-old left-winger was the 52nd overall choice Detroit in the 2022 NHL entry draft. He’s under contract with SKA St. Petersburg until the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. He put his name to a two-year extension with the club last season.
My best guess right now is that we ought to check SKA Neva St. Petersburg’s box scores to see whether Buchelnikov earns ice time there.
