Red Wings Prospects on Twitter got up very early to watch a KHL preseason game, and Dmitri Buchelnikov delivered for his new team, Vityaz Moscow Region:
Dimitri Buchelnikov(2nd round’22) Game Winner in OT 🚨#LGRW pic.twitter.com/D8JUcCOnd3
— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) August 21, 2024
I believe that Buchelnikov has a two-year contract with Vityaz, but the more we see him doing “Buchelnikov things” in the KHL’s month-long preseason, the more I think that the Red Wings want the 20-year-old (he turns 21 on September 6th) out of Russia and over here in North America ASAP.
Right now, the Red Wings can only really communicate with Buchelnikov using their European scouts as intermediaries, and as he begins his sophomore full season in the KHL, I’m certain that the Wings’ strength and conditioning coaches, trainers and nutritionist are all champing at the bit to bring him over and make sure he’s working both on and off the ice to develop his skills and develop that 5’10,” 170-pound frame into something that can endure the bump and grind of North American hockey.
He’s got hands for sure. Anybody who’s watched Red Wings Prospects‘ various clips of Buchelnikov on Twitter knows that the kid dekes and dangles like a professional already.
The problem is that we don’t know much after that, and as the Red Wings deal with something of a conflict-driven Iron Curtain, the team can’t apply its usual hands-on approach with the young man.
Here’s hoping that he thrives in Russia this season, and then gets the hell out of there.
