Intense kid. He’s got some speed and a nice shot, but mostly he’s a real puck predator. He wants the puck, he wants to take it to the net, and he wants to shoot. He’s not afraid to hit people, work on the boards, or drive into traffic, either.
Name of Nikita Soshnikov.
Shanahan signs him for three years, over the heads of the other NHL bidders, and that hasn’t happened in Leafland in a while. Targeting a high-scoring young Russian is an enormously big break from former Leaf managements.
So how did Shanny find this kid?