KHL clubs rent two Russians from the NHL. What will Morozov and Firstov achieve in Russia?
Pavel Panyshev July 10, 2023, 20:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Unlike the Fedotov case, there were no scandals and quarrels here.
The KHL transfer campaign continues. The lease agreements were officially announced today: Spartak and Torpedo have agreed with Vegas and Minnesota to lease two Russian forwards, Ivan Morozov and Vladislav Firstov. Unlike the sensational “Fedotov case”, here everything went without scandals, quarrels and with full mutual understanding of all parties.
The FHR spoke about the “Fedotov case”:
A new twist in the scandalous case of Fedotov. The goalkeeper will be banned from playing in Russia… FHR?
Vladislav Firstov, 22 years old Loaned from Minnesota to Torpedo
Forward Vladislav Firstov will continue to play for Torpedo next season.
“The Nizhny Novgorod club has agreed with the Minnesota Wild NHL club to officially extend the lease of the 22-year-old hockey player until the end of the 2023/2024 season. In the near future, the player will sign a one-year contract with Torpedo,” the club said in a statement.
Last season Vladislav played 47 games in the regular phase, in which he scored 11 goals and provided 15 assists, adding a total of 26 points with a utility rate of +11. In the playoffs, the striker has 10 games and 4 (3+1) goals.
The most important point here is that Firstov knows the Nizhny Novgorod organization well, and Torpedo head coach Igor Larionov was personally interested in extending the lease. For the second consecutive year, the Russian and American clubs have come to an agreement civilly, doing without exaggeration and unnecessary noise.
Larionov knows how and loves to work with young hockey players, and they, in turn, reciprocate the specialist. Firstov will definitely help the torpedo team, this is the correct and competent decision, made even by the player himself. There is still no place for Vlad in the Minnesota base, but in Nizhny Novgorod he may well prove himself in all his splendor, getting a place in the top 6 of the attack.
Vladislav Firstov
Photo: photo.khl.ru
Ivan Morozov, 23 years old On loan from Las Vegas to Spartak
In turn, Spartak agreed with the Vegas Golden Knights club on the official loan of striker Ivan Morozov until the end of the 2023/2024 KHL season. The 23-year-old forward scored 17 (6 assists 11) points in 58 games in his rookie AHL season with a -22 utility rating.
Morozov became a silver and bronze medalist of the world youth championship, and in 2021 he played in the world championship for the Russian national team under the leadership of Alexei Zhamnov. So, the coach and the hockey player have known each other for a long time, which is also an important point.
How Morozov’s rights to Spartak ended:
Register compensation as part of a trade in the KHL! The main thing about newcomers from Spartak.
Morozov, as many remember, was one of the prospects of SKA for a long time, but then he was loaned to HC Sochi. The fact is that Ivan did not want to renew the contract with the army club, intending to try his luck abroad. The SKA leadership, of course, did not like this alignment.
Morozov’s KHL rights then became part of a major deal between Spartak and SKA to trade Alexander Nikishin. Ivan at that time had already signed a two-year rookie contract with the Las Vegas draft, and subsequently did not play a single game for the first team. Too crude and inexperienced, Ivan went abroad.
Of course, playing in the KHL is more interesting than riding the bus through the expanses of the AHL. That is why Morozov made the right decision and will spend the next year in Moscow. Let’s not forget that Ivan plays in a poor position as a center forward, so Zhamnov’s coaching staff took a special interest in this operation.
