A year ago, it was Maxim Tsyplakov explaining why he made the leap from the KHL to the Islanders and trying to make an impression in rookie camp before starting the season in the top six.
Friday, it was Maxim Shabanov explaining, with the help of Gleb Veremyev — who acted as his interpreter — much the same, with essentially the same goal in mind.
The Islanders’ inroads into Russia, with two consecutive years signing the top free agent out of the KHL and five Russians expected to be on their roster this season, have quietly built into a weapon, and if there is one member of Lou Lamoriello’s scouting staff who Mathieu Darche should keep around forever, it is European scout Jim Paliafito.
For all the noise around the Rangers and Minnesota’s unsigned superstar Kirill Kaprizov, it is worth noting too that Kaprizov and Ilya Sorokin are extremely close friends and former teammates at CSKA Moscow.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
