Artemi Panarin stood alongside friend and teammate Viktor Tikhonov, who’s doubled as Panarin’s translator during his first few weeks here.
So learning English, how’s that going?
“What?” Panarin said himself to laughs before deferring to Tikhonov to translate the rest of his answer.
“He thought it was going to be easier,” Tikhonov said.
What has been easier for the 23-year-old Russian is getting back up to speed after an upper-body injury sidelined him for nearly two weeks. Panarin, through Tikhonov, said he feels “better than he expected” when he practiced with the Blackhawks on Friday.