Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov begins his KHL season tomorrow when CSKA (the Central Red Army team) battles Dynamo Moscow in a “Moscow derby.” As such, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes that Buchelnikov’s moving from the Russian pro hockey hinterlands to both Russia’s capitol and a capital of hockey:
It’s been hard to fully analyze Buchelnikov (52nd, 2022) because he has played for weak, non-competitive KHL teams for the past two seasons. But the Red Wings have seen enough to know that the flashy Russian athlete possesses, at the very least, the potential to be an impact offensive performer. The smallish, speedy winger finished 17th in last season’s KHL scoring race with 15 goals and 39 assists for 54 points for Balashikha Vityaz.
Buchelnikov’s only 5’10” and 170 pounds, and he did begin his hockey career in the mighty SKA St. Petersburg system, but after 10 games played for the men’s team, he was loaned to the Admiral Vladivostok, a team in Russia’s far east, and as Allen notes, he played for Vityaz Moscow Region last season, a small-market team stuffed into a Moscow suburb.
Buchelnikov’s KHL profile is changing this season because he is playing for CSKA Moscow, the country’s most storied franchise. One of the reasons CSKA acquired Buchelnikov is team officials believe he can help CSKA return to the prominence. In the KHL preseason, no player registered more points than Buchelnikov (three goals, four assists).
Not every KHL standout ends up as an NHL star. But could Buchelnikov end up having NHL impact like New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin and Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov? After this season we may be better able to answer that question. Playing in CSKA’s top six, Buchelnikov will be matched up against the KHL’s best forwards every night. This season will provide a more demanding challenge for him before he comes to North America.
Continued; I’m not certain where Buchelnikov will ultimately play, but he’s got the chops to make it…It’s just a matter of how much he can develop both physically, mentally and game-wise when he makes the jump to North America next spring.
