The much-anticipated arrival of
Blue Jacketsprospect forward Kirill Marchenko is on the verge of taking an official step forward.
Marchenko, 21, is no longer under contract with Russia’s KHL. The deal he had with SKA St. Petersburg expired on Saturday, and the Blue Jackets are expected to move quickly to get him signed.
Expect a two-year deal, as dictated by the
NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, to be announced by the Blue Jackets within the next day or two.
The NHL suspended its business relationship with the KHL in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so the process of signing prospects has changed slightly, but a source told
The Athleticthat Marchenko’s deal is imminent.
Marchenko’s agent, Mark Gandler, would not comment on the report this weekend when contacted by
The Athletic.
“Yeah, he’s pretty good,” said Blue Jackets defenseman
Vladislav Gavrikov, who played for SKA St. Petersburg for two seasons before making the leap to Columbus in 2019. Marchenko was just turning pro back then.
“I played with him a couple of years,” Gavrikov said. “I know him a lot. He’s a good, humble guy. He’s here with big skill, but he told me he needs to adjust to the North American style of hockey leagues.
“I’m pretty sure he’ll figure it out. It’s gonna be all right. I will help him as much as I can. Probably Chinny (
Yegor Chinakhov) can help, as well.”
Marchenko is viewed as a middle-six winger with decent size (6-foot-3, 187 pounds), above-average skill, and more than adequate speed.
The Athletic’s prospect guru, Corey Pronman, rated Marchenko the Blue Jackets’ second-best prospect at the start of the 2021-22 season, trailing only
Kent Johnson and one spot ahead of
Cole Sillinger.
Marchenko will likely make his first trip to Columbus in mid-to-late August, along with his wife, Viktoria.
He won’t be expected to take part in Blue Jackets’ summer development camp — that’s for young prospects who haven’t yet turned pro — but is expected to play at the NHL Prospects Tournament next fall in Traverse City, Mich.
Nobody’s really sure how long it might take to secure a work visa for Marchenko, but by getting him signed early, the Blue Jackets are leaving plenty of time for red tape and paperwork.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen would not discuss Marchenko’s signing when reached on Saturday. He answered two questions with the same line: “He’ll be here.”
theathletic.com
I watched it to refresh my memory of his skillset and to get new ideas for NHL comps. Ever since he was drafted, it's been hard for me to think of a player who plays exactly like him. That shift-by-shift video is already kind of outdated (1,5 years old) but at least there you can see him play against pros. VHL has their own youtube channel which probably contains more recent stuff from Marchenko but the competition is supposedly weaker in VHL playoffs than in KHL regular season games.
