Penguins forward prospect Kirll Tankov is likely done for the season after suffering a scary injury in a game in Russia on Monday.
Tankov's SKA-Neva club was in the second period of a game against Dynamo St. Petersburg when Dynamo defenseman Artyom Maltsev dangerously shoved Tankov from behind in a race for the puck, sending Tankov awkwardly into the boards headfirst.
Tankov remained down on the ice for several minutes and had to be taken off on a stretcher:
Maltsev was ejected from the game as a result of the hit.
SKA-Neva head coach Alexander Titov didn't have much of an update on Tankov after the game other than to say he had been taken to a hospital.
"An alarming situation," Titov said. "Let's hope everything works out. The player was taken to the hospital for examination, put a splint on his neck. He hit his head on the board, there was a push from the Dynamo player. We did not watch the video, but the push was visible from the bench. The officials watched the video for a reason. I hope that this injury will not be terrible and severe."
The Russian national sports television station Match TV reported Monday evening that Tankov had fractured a cervical vertebrae in his neck (likely his C5 vertebrae, per the report) and is likely done for the season
Tankov, 20, was the Penguins' seventh-round pick in 2021. Last season was his first season in the VHL (the Russian second league) and he had a successful rookie season, scoring 10 goals and 11 assists in 38 games. Though he's capable of playing both wing and center, he was used exclusively as a center last season. He was playing second-line center in Monday's game before he was injured.
When I spoke with then-director of player development Scott Young at the end of last season, he spoke of the organization being very high on Tankov. The Penguins have a Russian scout -- Alexander Khavanov -- who keeps an eye on Tankov in person throughout the year. The first time Young got to see him in person was at the Four Nations junior tournament, a smaller European tournament which functions as a precursor to the World Junior Championship.
"He is a very good hockey player," Young said. "He's got size (6-foot-1, 181 pounds). He's got good hands, patience with the puck, he sees the ice. There's a lot to really like about him. And to get him so late in the draft? You know, I'll just say he was the talk of the tournament over there amongst all the scouts, and I'll leave it at that."
Tankov played a number of games for SKA in the KHL preseason this year and is still looking to make his KHL regular-season debut.
