Vladislav Gavrikov is already familiar with both of the Russian Rangers, Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin, from previous stops in his hockey career.
Having first met Shesterkin when they were teenagers playing on Russia’s national team, Gavrikov skated in front of the Blueshirts star netminder during the 2014 World Junior Championship and for SKA St. Petersburg from 2017-2019.
The 29-year-old defenseman also overlapped with Panarin for two playoff games in 2018-19 with Columbus. Their wives became friends.
Contrary to popular belief, however, his fellow countrymen were not what drew Gavrikov to New York as a free agent this summer.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
