The Los Angeles Kings continued their run on forwards in the 2018 NHL Draft, picking a Russian winger with some eye-popping numbers in the third-round. Welcome to the Kings, Bulat Shafigullin.
Aside from having a name which lends itself exceptionally well to a “DREW” or “LUC”-style serenade, Shafigullin has some numbers which should excite Kings fans. He led the MHL — that’s the Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga, the KHL’s development league — in points per game (1.64) among players with at least 20 games played. His playoff performance was equally impressive, as he helped take a seventh-place team to the conference finals with a league-leading 15 points in just 9 games.