Washington Capitals prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko parted ways with his KHL club. The forward has had quite the journey this past year, as Tony Ferrari explains.
Washington Capitals prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko parted ways with his KHL club. The forward has had quite the journey this past year, as Tony Ferrari explains.
Update: The Washington Capitals signed forward Ivan Miroshnichenko to a three-year entry-level contract on Monday afternoon. He will earn $855,000 in the NHL and $82,500 in the AHL.
This comes hours after the announcement that the Washington Capitals’ first-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft mutually agreed to part ways with his KHL club, Avangard Omsk.
Miroshnichenko’s life over the last two seasons has been quite the journey. Heading into the 2021-22 season, he was viewed as one of the best players eligible for the draft, but an up-and-down season and global turmoil due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to his stock taking a hit.
That’s when real life took over, and hockey didn’t matter anymore. In March 2022, Miroshnichenko was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. This was the same cancer that NHL legend Mario Lemieux was diagnosed with in the middle of his Hall of Fame career. Miroshnichenko missed the remainder of his draft year and went to Germany for treatment.
Miraculously, Miroshnichenko returned to the ice and began skating just before the NHL draft. After the cancer went into remission, Miroshnichenko was ready to prepare for the 2022-23 season. It was a welcome sign right before the draft, as many viewed him as a potential top-10 selection. Ultimately, the Washington Capitals selected him 20th overall.
In November, the Capitals’ newest first-round pick made his season debut in the Russian junior league. In his second game back, he recorded his first goal and assist of the season. Shortly after a successful run with the junior squad, Miroshnichenko was promoted to the VHL and bounced back and forth between the junior and second-level pro leagues.
In December, he made his KHL debut, playing in arguably the top men’s pro league outside of the NHL. Miroshnichenko played most of the season in the KHL from that point on, recording his first KHL goal the day after Christmas.
After a fairly successful season in his home country, Miroshnichenko’s future was up in the air a bit, and we now have some answers with the contract termination. Omsk will continue to hold his rights in Russia, but he was free to sign his entry-level contract with Washington.
Miroshnichenko looked like his old self throughout this past season. He is an excellent shooter who brings a blend of speed and power that is rare in the NHL. He has good size and can be an excellent finisher alongside a high-level playmaker at the NHL level. The upside with Miroshnichenko is still quite high. The Capitals could use an injection of youth in their forward core as they look to retool on the fly.
At the end of the day, as great as it is to see Miroshnichenko signing his entry-level contract, seeing him healthy and thriving again is great to see.