But 13 points in 21 games is 13 points in 21 games, and Der-Arguchintsev expected more of himself to start the season.
“It was a little slow start for me and I would say I wasn’t on the top of my production, right? Like my production will come, I’m just kind of more focused right now on maybe scoring more goals because I have only one goal right now. It’s something that I have to do because I’m an offensive player,” he said.
Wilson has met with Der-Arguchintsev a lot this season to help him take what he has (the raw talent) and fix the rest (the minus-17 rating he began the year with).
“He’s a good kid, Sem. He’s pretty quiet, he’s a pretty lowkey guy, but you can have a laugh with him and he likes to joke. He’s got a personality to him. He’s just a young man with some serious talent and it’s funny because he’s very strong on his skates and I think he’s very confident, so he’s strong off the ice too. I think he has that little aura of confidence that you need,” Wilson said.
Just because it hasn’t happened yet — the offensive explosion the Petes anticipate as around the corner — doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. Der-Arguchintsev isn’t like any kid his age.
“He will take it to the next level. Toronto knows what they’re doing and they saw something in him that not just us but a lot of people see in him. He is working extremely hard. His accountability off the puck, it’s very important to him and he’s all in,” Wilson said. “He’s not far off the pace he was on last year and you’ve got to remember he’s a young 18, right? Maybe that doesn’t matter so much when we’re all 25 and 35 and all that but when you’re a kid it makes a difference.”
he bugs Zaitsev for tickets all the time.
