News Article: Leafs approached Kings prospect Nikolai Prokhorkin about coming to the NHL

[Keep Sorokin Me Babe]

http://theleafsnation.com/2016/8/25...ct-nikolai-prokhorkin-about-coming-to-the-nhl

Prokhorkin is a player that appears to have the skillset to give North America another try. He's 6'2, he's flashy with the puck, and he isn't afraid to use his body when he has to. He was top-50 in the KHL in all situations rate production and was in the upper ranks for hitting frequency, penalty drawing, and faceoff percentage. Having a well-rounded impact as such is a rarity for younger players in the league, meaning there's a level of positive perception there from his coaches and general managers.

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[ACC1224]

How could they approach another Teams prospect?

 

[Randy Randerson]

http://theleafsnation.com/2016/8/25...ct-nikolai-prokhorkin-about-coming-to-the-nhl

This is in the article, first thing that I wondered about:

With that considered, the fact that the Leafs spoke directly to him was almost certainly a matter of having permission rather than a tampering effort, as some might be initially thinking as they read this.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Could have been a handshake deal that if he was willing to come to North America the Leafs would trade a prospect or pick for him?

As Randy pointed out above...

 

[leafers]

 

[leafers]

.....

"This summer the Leafs contacted me, but I told them right away that I have to achieve something here, I have to win something," Prokhorkin told Sovsport. "Although, I think this is going to be my last contract in Russia. I signed with SKA for 3 years. They told me that was how long they wanted me for, even though I was discussing a 2-year deal with Salavat. I don’t see any problem in that. Let it be three years. I’m not 30 yet. I’m not losing anything."

 

[saltming]

The wingspan on that wraparound at 1:30 was very impressive. Soft hands in tight. Looks very worthy of a chance.

 

[Menzinger]

Leafs have really been expanding their Russian scouting.

Nice to see

 

[RoadWarrior]

Leafs have really been expanding their Russian scouting.

Nice to see

The overage, undersized and Russian prospects have been overlooked in the past and not heavily scouted. The leafs see an opportunity to gain an advantage over the other teams in the league by exploiting these inefficiencies. It's fantastic to actually see a real commitment from this management group to building a winning franchise.

 

[Rare Jewel]

Hunter drafted him for London in the import draft back in 2012.

So there's been relationship there for a while.

 

[FlareKnight]

The Leafs seem to be looking hard at Russia and finding value. It's a good idea to try to look into places that aren't scouted as heavily and see what can be found. Every chance to improve and get better is being taken.

 

[Muston Atthews]

The Russians are coming!

 

[Stephen]

Looks like they're trying to do the Tampa Bay thing.

Makes sense. There were tons of Russians in the NHL in the 90s and pre-lockout, but the numbers have dwindled since the KHL and whatnot. Makes sense there's tons of untapped Russians outside of the NHL.

 

[hotpaws]

The overage, undersized and Russian prospects have been overlooked in the past and not heavily scouted. The leafs see an opportunity to gain an advantage over the other teams in the league by exploiting these inefficiencies. It's fantastic to actually see a real commitment from this management group to building a winning franchise.

hopefully we target overaged undersized Russians so we can really game the draft

 

[gravyface]

Looks like they're trying to do the Tampa Bay thing.

Makes sense. There were tons of Russians in the NHL in the 90s and pre-lockout, but the numbers have dwindled since the KHL and whatnot. Makes sense there's tons of untapped Russians outside of the NHL.

Exactly: it's not like hockey has dropped in popularity in Russia, or somehow they're not producing talent like they once were, it's just teams stopped taking risks for fear or players bolting to the KHL.

Thankfully we've got a scouting staff and the connections in place to take advantage, so here's hoping some of these pan out.

 

[Barilko14]

How stacked does SKA look this year? Granted i have not checked out the other rosters but between former NHL starts (Kovy, Datsyuk, Voynov) and KHL stars that have been chased by NHL teams (Shipachev, Plotnikov, Moses) they appear to have a great KHL team.

 

[Mad Brills*]

Hell, tarasenko fell because he spent 2 years post draft in the KHL.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Prokhorkin huh? That would be a decent catch. Never a bad idea to go after and adding good assets.

 

[Jack Bauer]

How could they approach another Teams prospect?

Does anyone know the exact rule here?

I would assume that if he hasn't signed then he's no different then an RFA.

 

[Antropovsky]

Hell, tarasenko fell because he spent 2 years post draft in the KHL.

What do you mean by fell?

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Pretty sure trying to sign another teams prospect is illegal

 

[Mess]

Pretty sure trying to sign another teams prospect is illegal

Its tampering and 100% illegal.

However if you approach the team that owns his rights and get permission or if you have a conditional trade in place with it being subject to getting that player to NA then all is fine.

Leafs had permission to approach Prokhorkin.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I'm sure we'd have to trade for his rights. Another LW/C with size is not a bad idea, especially considering we'll be opening a few spots next year and have far more depth at the RW position.

It could be a way for us to relieve ourselves of some prospects, since LA needs some depth all over the place. Could trade them a bunch of guys who need ELC's (Herzog, Piccinich, Desrocher, etc.) for him. The Leafs were scouting their farm system for some time not too long ago. Perhaps there is another guy they are interested in too?

I wish we could trade them Peter Holland, but they don't have the roster space nor cap space to fit him unless we take back Dwight King. It's possible, but it would force Martin to the 4RW, which means one of Hyman or Rychel won't have a spot.

 

[blueberrie]

Why wouldn't he just come play for LA?

 

[Nithoniniel]

Why wouldn't he just come play for LA?

I guess the likely thing is that LA has tried, and he hasn't shown any interest in coming back any time soon. If he's coming over in two years, I guess they'll likely have lost the rights to him, so no reason for LA to deny other teams the chance to talk with him.