Red Wings prospect and CSKA Moscow forward Dmitri Buchelnikov gave an interview to Sport24.ru’s Nadezhda Tonkonog recently, after taking part in a charity game called “The Match of the World,” and we’re getting two translations thereof today.
First, from Red Wings Prospects on Twitter:
"You have to think about leaving for America from the heart. The NHL is almost everyone's dream." Interview with CSKA newcomer Buchelnikov
— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) July 9, 2025
By Надежда Тонконог loosely translated. Only the Detroit related stuff. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/IbUnHNX5WF
Other paraphrased notes from the article.
— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) July 9, 2025
•enjoyed the 3v3
•hoped Roman Rotenberg could save Vityaz
•according to the KHL couldn’t return to SKA
•excited to work with Igor Nikitin the school of Leonid Grigorievich Tambiev prepared him
•Vityaz still owes him money
Second, from the Hockey News’s Michael Whitaker:
Buchelnikov, who is set to enter the upcoming 2025-26 season with the KHL’s CSKA Moskva, recently disclosed to Nadezhda Tonkonog of the Russian-based Sport24 that he remains in regular contact with the Red Wings and Nikolai Vakurov, their Russian scout.
“We spoke probably two months ago,” Buchelnikov said via Sport24. “We talked about the season, what I will do in the summer. We always communicate with Nikolai Vakurov, their Russian scout, and are in touch. And not only about hockey, about life.”
Buchelnikov also confessed that he was literally shaking with excitement during his most recent conversation with Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman, who had a front-row seat to the numerous tremendous on-ice accomplishments of so many great Russian players in Detroit history.
“When I stood talking to such a legend, my knees almost shook,” he said. “I think all of us watched ‘The Russian Five’ (documentary). But this is through the TV, and seeing it live is worth a lot.”
Buchelnikov is under contract for another season with CSKA Moskva, but he looked ahead to when he could potentially travel overseas to North America and begin his professional career on American soil in Detroit’s farm system.
“It all depends on my game, how I will perform,” Buchelnikov said. “If I understand that I am approaching this level, that I can compete and, most importantly, win this competition, then, of course, I will think about it. But now I’m in Russia, I still have a year of contract, and I just have to think about getting into the top 6 here and showing everything with my play.”
We’ve talked about Buchelnikov’s status many times before: as Whitaker notes, he’s got a valid contract with CSKA Moscow for this upcoming 2025-2026 season, and unless he can afford to buy himself out (which I doubt that CSKA would allow, given Buchelnikov’s status as having posted 54 points in 65 games this past season for Vityaz Moscow Region) or get released outright, he’s pretty much stuck in Russia until May 1st of 2026.
Upon that time, however, the Red Wings really want to get their hands on the 21-year-old who’s listed at 5’10” and 170 pounds. Buchelnikov may be undersized, but he can score, he can pass, he can dangle, and he’s got a lot of untapped potential that the Red Wings hope to unlock via bulking up that little body through strength training and nutrition, and exposing him to the rigors of North American pro hockey.
