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Carolina Hurricanes Sleeper to Watch: Kirill Slepets

By Alex Ohari

VANCOUVER , BC - JANUARY 5: Kirill Slepets #29 of Russia skates against Switzerland during a bronze medal game at the IIHF World Junior Championships at Rogers Arena on January 5, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER , BC - JANUARY 5: Kirill Slepets #29 of Russia skates against Switzerland during a bronze medal game at the IIHF World Junior Championships at Rogers Arena on January 5, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /
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VANCOUVER , BC – JANUARY 4: Goaltender Cayden Primeau #30 of the United States makes a save on Kirill Slepets #29 of Russia during a semi-final game at the IIHF World Junior Championships at Rogers Arena on January 4, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images)
VANCOUVER , BC – JANUARY 4: Goaltender Cayden Primeau #30 of the United States makes a save on Kirill Slepets #29 of Russia during a semi-final game at the IIHF World Junior Championships at Rogers Arena on January 4, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Light/Getty Images) /

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?

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