Why the Washington Capitals believe they got the steal of the 2022 NHL Draft

MONTREAL – Ross Mahoney quietly slid his hands under the table and crossed his fingers.

The Washington Capitals assistant GM and director of amateur scouting was sitting at his table on the Bell Centre’s NHL Draft floor, sweating out pick No. 19 during the first round Friday night. The selection belonged to the Minnesota Wild, a team that just weakened itself on the wings by trading Kevin Fiala and thus was a decent bet to target its area of need. That made Mahoney and the Caps perspire even more. As they were one pick away from snagging a player they believed should’ve been rated along with the best talents in the draft.

The Wild did go with a winger – Liam Ohgren. The Caps let out a collective sigh of relief. They could call the name of the player they believed was the biggest steal of the draft:

Ivan Miroshnichenko. The player Mahoney called “by far the best available” on the board at 20^th overall.

“He can really shoot the puck, he’s got a high hockey IQ, and he’s a competitive, competitive player, wants to win,” Mahoney said. “Not afraid to take the puck into those tough areas to score goals, finish his checks. He plays with some passion.”

It’s not like the Russian left winger was a sleeper. Among the scouting community in the year leading up to the 2022 Draft, there was no doubting his talent and potential as a high-end goal scorer. But there were many concerns over his availability – for multiple reasons.

The first, sadly, was his health. By early March, he was rated as, give or take, a top 10 prospect in his class, but he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. If you recognize that form of cancer in a hockey context, it’s because it’s the same disease that afflicted Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1992-93 season. On top of the fears over Miroshnichenko’s health, the political uncertainty over Russian prospects likely depressed his Draft stock, too. The NHL has cut ties with the KHL in light of Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine, and Russia has become possessive of its young hockey assets, recently blocking Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Ivan Fedotov from leaving for North America and sending him to a remote military base to fulfill his mandatory service.

So Miroshnichenko’s outlook was bleak and uncertain in the months and weeks leading up to the Draft. That said: his health turned around. His cancer went into full remission during his treatment in Germany. Mahoney met with him there at the time as the IIHF Under-18 World Championship was being played there and he saw remarkable physical changes in the youngster between then and Friday night.

“To see him then and to see him now is a real big difference,” Mahoney said. “He’s already, I can tell, starting to put his weight back on and get back into training. We’ll be patient with him.”

While Mahoney admits he “doesn’t have a crystal ball,” it sounds like the Capitals did their homework and are confident that Miroshnichenko’s heritage won’t hurt his chances of playing for them in the NHL, albeit he’s expected to return to the VHL, Russia’s second division, and play for Omsk for at least next season.

If anything, the Capitals, more than any team in the league, see Miroshnichenko’s nationality as a plus. They have the most prominent Russian presence in the NHL, led by captain and noted Vladimir Putin supporter Alex Ovechkin, center Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and goaltender Ilya Samsonov. No other environment is more comfortable hosting Russian players at the moment, and Miroshnichenko appreciates that. The only English word he could manage Friday night was “Super!” to express his joy, but he communicated with Capitals vice-president of communications Sergei Kocharov as an interpreter.

“Just a tremendous feeling – such a great organization,” Miroshnichenko said. “There are so many great players, Russian players that played for the organization. So to join them is a tremendous honor.”

Aside from development camp, when he joins them long-term is largely up in the air. He’s still getting his body back into shape, having skated roughly 10 times since finishing his cancer treatment. But the Capitals are confident he’ll be an impact player sooner rather than later. They like his physicality and Mahoney believes Miroshnichenko’s leadership stands out, too, noting that he was an assistant captain as a 17-year old on a franchise in the Russian junior circuit full of 18- and 19-year olds.

Miroshnichenko’s road has been trying to say the least. And it could still take him time to feel like himself again. But he knows what he’s capable of. He’s not lacking for confidence.

“This season went very well for me until I got sick,” he said. “But I was preparing for it the entire season. I played very well, and I was expecting to go earlier until I got sick.”

But maybe an extreme misfortune will bring something fortunate. There’s little denying that, for many different reasons, he’s landed in the environment best suited to welcome and mentor him.

____

POINTSBET CANADA IS LIVE IN ONTARIO

PointsBet Canada has officially launched in Ontario! Get more details right here!

Why the Washington Capitals believe they got the steal of the 2022 NHL Draft

POINTSBET CANADA IS LIVE IN ONTARIO

Recently by Matt Larkin