Danil Antropov looks to follow in father's footsteps with a career in the National Hockey League
By Daniel Nugent-Bowman
22 March, 2016 1:08 PM
Buzzing The Net
The talent evaluators of future major junior hockey players that have been watching Danil Antropov rave about the progress he’s made over the last few months. When the puck dropped on the 2015-16 minor midget season, many scouts affiliated with Ontario Hockey League clubs were projecting Antropov as a likely fourth-round draft pick. Today, one scout has called him the most underrated player available in the April 9 selection event.
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You can also count his coach as another hockey person in the 15-year-old’s corner. Ken Strong was disappointed with the play of Antropov and his Toronto Marlboros minor midget teammates in the back half of a 2-1 double-overtime loss to the York Simcoe Express in Monday’s OHL Cup title game. But the Marlboros coach, who has helped Connor McDavid, Sam Bennett and other teenagers develop into National Hockey League players, believes Antropov is likely the smartest player in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. Finally, there is his father, Nik Antropov.
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“If you look at him last year, he did look like me,” said the former first-round NHL pick, who put 193 goals and 465 points on his 788-game resume... “But this year he’s at a different level.”
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Nik knows full well the improvement his oldest son has made over the course of the season, attending every one of his games. It’s a far cry from recent times when dad saw only a single late-season contest as Danil was forced to get reacquainted with southern Ontario on his own. Nik was playing in the KHL for Barys Astana in his native Kazakhstan when Danil, then 13, left the family – also consisting of his mother, Elena, his younger sister, Nika, and his brother, Matvey – in January 2014.
“There was a big family meeting,” Nik said. “It was a tough decision for us, but we decided it was better for him in terms of hockey. The hockey career was on the line for him.”
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“Being home alone (teaches you) where you have to be and what you have to do to prepare for your games,” Danil said. “You don’t have mom or dad there telling you to go to bed, you have a game tomorrow.” However, missing his family took a toll and was one of the reasons why Danil calls last season a struggle. At 36, Nik notes he hasn’t officially retired yet, but the new arrangement does seem permanent after he turned down another deal with Barys Astana.
“I have to refuse it. I have to be parent once in a while,” he said, showing a missing front tooth as he laughed.
Danil won’t ever forget when the family reunited again for good before the season and he got to see his two-year-old brother.
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“He’s really improved. He’s got great hockey sense. I would say the best in the GTHL,” Strong said. “He’s got all the tools to be a great OHL player.”
Ken Hornick, the director of scouting for the London Knights, believes Danil is a first- or second-round OHL draft pick and is confident of a future NHL career.
“He’s just got everything,” Hornick said. “He kind of reminds me of (Knight and top 2016 NHL draft prospect) Matt Tkachuk a little bit. They don’t look alike on the ice, but their play is very similar. Very dogged, on the puck, making plays. Danil battles. He looks like a guy that doesn’t have a lot of energy when he plays, but he does. He’s a treat to watch.”
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Hope to see Danil eventually make it to the NHL.
