Penguins forward prospect Kirill Tankov appears to be in good spirits after suffering a devastating injury in Monday.
Tankov, the Penguins' seventh-round pick in 2021, was hit from behind by Dynamo player Artyom Maltsev while playing for SKA-Neva in the regular-season opener in the Russian second league on Monday. Tankov went headfirst into the boards and had to be stretchered off the ice:
Maltsev was initially suspended for three games for the hit before a review extended the suspension to 10 games.
The hit fractured a vertebrae in Tankov's neck -- believed to be his C5 -- likely ending his season.