Carolina Hurricanes Sleeper to Watch: Kirill Slepets
Kirill Slepets is not only one of the Carolina Hurricanes most mysterious prospects, he’s also one of the most intriguing. Join me as I dive into his story.
When you dream of something your whole life, and see your chance of achieving that dream come and go before your eyes without being able to intervene or do anything about it, that’s an absolutely crushing feeling. Ask Kirill Slepets. He went undrafted in his 2017 draft year, and was then undrafted once again in 2018. But the Carolina Hurricanes would change that.
But this kid, he’s persistent. He didn’t allow his hopes being crushed twice to demoralize him, and put together a phenomenal 2018-19 season. He scored 12 goals in 17 games in the Russian junior league, played 10 games in the KHL and dominated the World Juniors with a 5-goal performance in that tournament. He was out to prove that NHL teams missed the mark on him, twice.
In 2017, he was ranked as high as 40th by ISS, and in 2018 he had first round buzz at some points, before not being selected either time. You might be wondering: why? There’s a few possibilities. Slepets is tiny – he’s listed at only 5’10, 146lbs. He’s also played his entire life in Russia, which could lead to roadblocks in getting him over to North America. But his talent was worth taking the chance on.
Going into the 2019 draft after his stellar season, Slepets was ranked as high as the second round as a double overager, and was ranked as the 91st best prospect by renowned prospect analyst Corey Pronman. Slepets, after watching 19 rounds go by and 585 names called that weren’t his, finally got what he’d worked for, and his dreams became reality when Carolina selected him 152nd overall in the 5th round.
What the team saw in Slepets will excite Canes fans. He’s been touted for his blazing speed as well as his great shot. He’s got a good release, and overwhelms defensemen with his acceleration. One scouting source listed his NHL comparable as Carl Hagelin – ideally a second or third line winger with offensive ability, can kill penalties and play all situations. A really useful player
His Backstory
Every professional athlete has a story on how they got introduced to their sport, or what exactly made them fall in love with it. Maybe it was a family thing – maybe their dad, mother, brother, sister or cousin played the sport and influenced it onto them. Maybe they idolized someone who played their respective sport. Maybe it was the only thing that made them happy.
Everyone has a story. But Slepets’ path to hockey is both unique and hilarious. His story to end up where he is as an outstanding hockey player is really a great one.
“The story about my first steps in hockey is quite funny. I was attending kindergarten, and I saw a picture of one of my friends wearing his hockey equipment.” Slepets says. “So, I wanted to be a hockey player and asked my parents to get me playing. No one in my family was interested in hockey before me.” He literally just copied the idea from a random classmate.
“No one in my family was interested in hockey before me.” – Kirill Slepets
When he began skating, he couldn’t even balance himself standing up without falling over. But the aforementioned picture of his classmate determined him to be better, and he soon surpassed all his teammates.
His minor hockey coach, Maxim Survilov, worked extensively with Slepets for years to develop his game. “You could already see the characteristics which his strong sides are today, as speed and determination.” Survilov said.
In 2009, when Slepets was 10 years old, his coach Survilov moved to Yaroslavl to coach another team. The problem for Slepets? His hometown of Khabarovsk, Russia is nearly 3700 miles from Yaroslavl, so Slepets remained at home. However, after one year, Survilov and the Lokomotiv minor team were convinced that they really needed Slepets to play for their team.
So, as all 10-year old aspiring hockey players do (sarcasm) Slepets and his mom moved cross-country so Slepets could join the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv pipeline. They found a flat near his team’s home rink in Yaroslavl, Russia, where he started to put together all the pieces for a potential pro career.
To this day, he remains property of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl organization, where he’s signed through 2021. The day he moved was the start of his journey, which leads us to the present.
His Ascension
After his phenomenal showing in Russian junior and at the World Juniors in 2019, Slepets has move up from the juniors and started his 2019-20 season with Buran Voronezh of the VHL, whcih is basically the Russian equivalent of the AHL. Voronezh is about 450 miles from Yaroslavl. He currently leads that team with 13 points (6G, 7A) in 18 games, as he likely awaits a recall to the KHL.
He’s an interesting prospect for a multitude of reasons, aside from just his natural talents. Him and Pyotr Kochetkov are the first players the Hurricanes have drafted out of Russia since Igor Knyazev in 2001 (Svechnikov was drafted out of the OHL). Remarkably, between 2001 and 2018, the Hurricanes did not draft a single Russian player.
To find the last time this organization has drafted a Russian forward that was playing in Russia, you’d have to go back to 1993 when the Hartford Whalers selected Dmitri Gorenko in the 9th round, 214th overall. Gorenko never played a game for Hartford and remained in his Russian homeland for his entire career. He doesn’t even have a hockeyreference page for me to link for you guys.
So obviously, taking a chance on Slepets shows that the new regime in Carolina is willing to search far and wide for potential contributors. The Canes also recently added Oleg Smirnov as an amateur scout, who’s well-respected in Russian hockey and has been around in the KHL since 2009. Big news for a team that seemingly avoided Russian players for much of their existence.
But can Slepets be a guy who can break the trend? That remains to be seen, but he definitely has a shot. Literally. His blistering wrist shot, relentless work ethic and blazing speed give him capable tools to get him to the NHL one day. Here’s a glimpse of what to expect from him:
Kirill Slepets walks right in and dangles for the goal! It's 1-0 Russia. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/jmVbumIolK
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2019
In the clip above, Slepets shows his undeniably good stickhandling ability and skill in close as he freezes the goaltender and slides in an easy goal.
In the clip below, you get a taste of his blazing speed. He picks up a loose puck at his own blue-line, splits the D with a gust of speed that leaves them both in the dust and makes a gorgeous move, tucking the puck five-hole on the USA goaltender. Truly a world class effort, and a thing of absolute beauty.
https://twitter.com/tsn_sports/status/1081688133425606660?s=21
His entire performance against his U20 age group at the 2019 World Juniors was absolutely dominant. His 5 goals led the Russian team, and really raised his draft stock. He proved he can perform on the world stage.
Getting Him To North America
So with all this promise and potential, the Hurricanes have to be hoping he can realize it for the team one day. The problem is getting him to North America. Lokomotiv is a fantastic organization in the KHL, and they’re very good to their young players and make every effort to keep them there for a long time.
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The Canes will be hard-pressed to convince Slepets to leave that situation in his Russia homeland for the AHL. It’s a similar situation to the long-awaited Gregory Hofmann, who’s remained in his native Switzerland since being drafted in 2011 because of his obvious disinterest in living the grind of the American Hockey League lifestyle when his native Swiss league is a much better suited option for him and his personal lifestyle.
For Slepets, he’s never played in NA and has been in the same organization in his home country for 10 years. He’s been developed by that team his entire career. He’s with fellow Russian players. He’s probably compensated just as well as he would be in the AHL, and he’s one step away from playing for a great team in the great KHL league.
To convince him that riding buses to AHL games in a foreign country while getting paid minimum salary will be a tough task for Don Waddell.
I’m not even sure if Slepets speaks english.
But the Canes will hope they can do the unthinkable with Slepets, who has real game-breaking potential, to lure him here and be a key component to this team in the future. The reasons for taking a late-round flier on him are obvious, and he has the whole package which, if he puts it all together, can be heralded as a hidden gem for the Hurricanes.
They might have to wait a while, and have their work cut out for them but Slepets could really be worth it. Just the way he planned back in kindergarten.
Question for CC readers: What are your expectations for Slepets?
Canes allow CBJ to come back. Drop game in OT. dark. Next