Taken in the sixth round of the 2017 draft, the Wild rolled the dice when they selected Andrei Svetlakov. At 21-years-old and in his fourth year of draft eligibility, Svetlakov was practically a senior citizen in his draft class. But his age did come with one distinct benefit: professional experience.
While most prospects were fine tuning their games in Junior leagues and college hockey, Svetlakov was already getting a taste of professional hockey in the form of the KHL. Before Minnesota had even selected him with the 178th overall pick he already had appeared in 67 games with CSKA Moscow, tallying 26 points – 11 goals, 15 assists – in the span of two seasons.