Penguins forward prospect Kirill Tankov isn't coming over to North America anytime soon.
The KHL club HC SKA announced on Thursday that Tankov signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him in Russia through the 2024-25 season.
Tankov, 21, was the Penguins’ seventh-round pick in 2021.
Tankov’s contract extension is a good sign, because it indicates that he is expected to play again after a devastating injury that cost him nearly his entire 2022-23 season. Tankov was hit from behind in the second period of the season-opener for SKA’s team in the VHL, the second-tier league in Russia. Tankov went head-first into the boards and fractured a vertebrae in his neck, ending his season.
Tankov was expected to compete for KHL time that season had he not been injured.
Tankov did resume skating on his own toward the end of the season.
While Tankov’s contract extension means that he won’t be in North America for at least two more seasons, the signing has no impact on the Penguins’ ability to retain his North American signing rights. He's still the Penguins' property, nothing has changed there.
Typically, a NHL team has a pre-determined number of years to sign a drafted prospect that is based on the player’s age when he was drafted and where he was drafted from. If a player isn’t signed by that time, his team loses his rights and the player becomes an unrestricted free agent. Players coming from Russia are different. The NHL and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation have no transfer agreement, which means that players drafted out of Russia never have their signing rights expire.
Tankov can take as long as he needs to come to North America, because the Penguins hold his signing rights indefinitely. These two years in Russia will allow him to get back to his usual form after his lost season, and could move to North America after his contract with SKA is up.
