Earlier this morning, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff posted a rumor regarding Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov being moved from SKA St. Petersburg to Admiral Vladivostok. I never quite know how to take these rumors from the rumor-happy Russian press, so let’s see what Bob has to say about the trade which would send Buchelnkov from Russia’s west coast to Russia’s easternmost KHL team:
Russian website SportExpress.ru is reporting that a major deal is on the brink of going down that would see Detroit Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov back playing in the KHL.
SportExpress is reporting that SKA St. Petersburg is close to completing a trade that would see the club land goaltender Nikita Serebryakov from Admiral. Considered among the top goalies in the KHL, the proposed price to acquire Serebryakov will be Red Wings 2022 second-round draft pick Buchelnikov, goaltender Sergei Ivanov and a significant sum of cash.
Witb Admiral since 2021, Serebryakov is showing a .920 save percentage and 2.48 goals-against average so far this season. He’s known in these parts because as a junior he was working with Michigan-based goaltending instructor Stan Matwijiw.
SKA was the top seed entering the KHL playoffs as the top seed a year ago. However, delivering their ouster in the Gagarin Cup semifinals was eventual champions CSKA, the team coached by former Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov. SKA is off to a terrible start to the 2023-24 campaign. With a 6-6 record through 12 games, the club sits in the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.
Continued; as Duff notes, Buchelnikov has been playing for SKA’s farm team, SKA Neva St. Petersburg, and doing quite well in the VHL.
