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Predators Have Spoken With One of KHL’s Top Goal Scorers (+)

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1 year ago

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Vasily Atanasov
Photo of Vasily Atanasov via the KHL YouTube page

Given his frenetic scoring pace in the Kontinental Hockey League this season, it’s tough to believe that Vasily Atanasov was passed over in three different NHL drafts.

Only three KHL players have scored more goals than Atanasov’s 17, and the 21-year-old Russian forward also ranks in the league’s top 10 in scoring with 32 points through 35 games.

His jaw-dropping goals are regularly featured highlights on the KHL’s Twitter account, and he’s starting to garner attention from some NHL teams — specifically the Nashville Predators.

Though other teams have scouted him this season, the Predators are the only known team to have discussed signing Atanasov as of time of publication. Sources confirmed to Nashville Hockey Now that Predators European scout Denis Tolpeko spoke to Atanasov about coming to North America, and the team is keeping tabs on his progress.

Though he is under contract in the KHL through the end of the 2024-25 season, that’s not necessarily a deterrent to Atanasov signing with an entry-level contract with an NHL club.

Earlier this year, Atanasov’s KHL team Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod allowed Colorado Avalanche prospect Nikolai Kovalenko to terminate his KHL deal and sign an ELC with the Avs on the condition he be loaned back to Torpedo to finish out this season as part of a good-faith agreement.

It’s believed that a similar deal could be struck for Atanasov, who recently told Russian news outlet Match TV (h/t to Viktor Fomich of Russian Prospects) that the NHL is very much in his future.

“Of course [I think about playing in North America],” Atanasov said. “I think about playing in the NHL in the future, but for now, I have a contract with Torpedo until 2025, so I’m thinking about this KHL season.”

Whether or not that team is the Predators will likely be decided between now and the end of the 2023-24 KHL season. Atanasov admitted that Torpedo head coach Igor Larionov, who played 16 NHL seasons and won three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings, will play an important role in deciding which team is the right fit for him.

“His opinion will hold a lot of weight on who I choose (to sign with),” Atanasov said.

Atanasov went undrafted in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman even projected him to go in the fifth round in 2021.

With no NHL prospects, Atanasov signed with Torpedo ahead of the 2022-23 season. His rookie year was largely unimpressive — he tallied just 8 goals and 13 points in 32 games — but he appears to have flipped a switch since the end of last season, which has helped him perform at a near point-per-game pace.

Though he’s considered a bit undersized at 5-foot-11 and 157 pounds, he’s deceptively strong for his frame, and he’s showing the kind of scoring prowess that makes scouts salivate.

“He can move,” Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis told Nashville Hockey Now. “[He’s] very flashy, but it’s now starting to click. I feel like he’s more engaged defensively and is using his line-mates a bit more.”

Atanasov certainly needs to add some muscle mass to withstand the rigors of the NHL, but he could be a steal of a signing for a team come near the beginning of March when the KHL season ends.

Follow Michael Gallagher on X/Twitter @MGsports_

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