New York Rangers: How does the KHL compare to the NHL?

How will Kravtsov’s success in the KHL compare to the NHL?

VANCOUVER, BC - DECEMBER 30: Vitali Kravtsov #14 of Russia celebrates with teammates Dmitri Samorukov #5 and Alexander Romanov #26 after scoring a goal against Switzerland in Group A hockey action of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship action on December, 30, 2018 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

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Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Artemi Panarin

Artemi Panarin was an unusual case in that he was not drafted by any NHL team and signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent. As a result, Panarin didn’t make his NHL debut until he was 24 years old in 2015.

As a result, Panarin played six full seasons in the KHL, not blossoming into a prolific scorer until he was 22 years old when he scored 20 goals in 51 games for SKA St. Petersburg in 2013-14.

His best season was 2014-15 when he was 24 years old. He scored 26 goals and 62 points in 54 games, resulting in his signing with Chicago. The rest is history.

As a 20-year old in the KHL, he split the season between Chekhov Vityaz and Kazan Ak-Bars, scoring 13 goals and 31 points in 50 games. Kratsov is headed to a better goal scoring season, though he has yet to notch an assist.

Like Kuznetsov and Tarasenko, Panarin was given plenty of time to develop in the KHL before making the transition to North America. Of course, in his case, it wasn’t of his choosing as he was not drafted. Panarin was draft-eligible in the same 2010 class as his two countrymen and ironically could turn out to be the best NHL player of the trio.

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