Capitals director of communications Sergey Kocharov, center, is close by goalie prospect Ilya Samsonov, left, to translate any instruction in Russian as prospect goalie Adam Carlson, looks on (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

As goalie prospect Ilya Samsonov struggled with one language, he picked up another. At the Washington Capitals’ development camp in Ballston this week, Samsonov couldn’t understand what goaltending coach Mitch Korn was saying, so he instead attempted to make sense of his hand gestures.

When Korn needed help delivering the message to his new charge and Samsonov needed help understanding it, an interpreter skated over to relay the coach’s orders or the player’s questions. Samsonov nodded along and then held up his blocking pad, acknowledging that he understood, a new sign language forming between them.

For an increasing number of international prospects, learning hockey at the NHL level means learning to communicate before English is a viable option.

More than a quarter of the players in the NHL this past season were born outside North America, a percentage that continues to grow. Swedes lead the way, with 85 finding their way onto NHL rosters, while Russians were next with 41, including four on the Capitals. Most started in situations similar to Samsonov’s this past week: trying to learn from a new set of coaches but needing an interpreter to relay the messages.

“They are the most comfortable on the ice in the net, when nobody is talking to them. I would think that the net is universal, so they’re fine with that,” Korn said. “It’s everything else that’s probably difficult. And it’s difficult to talk to teammates, it’s difficult to express yourself, and it’s difficult to say you want cheese on your burger, you know?”

Ilya Samsonov, center, waits for goalies coach Mitch Korn to finish his instructions so he can get an interpretation from communications director Sergey Kocharov. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Earlier in the afternoon, when Samsonov rested on one knee on the ice, fellow goaltender Jay Williams tapped him on the shoulder in a show of encouragement. Samsonov reflexively returned it, no translation necessary.

‘Put ourselves in their shoes’

The Russian players in the NHL have a sort of fraternity, a mutual appreciation of what it takes to get from their homeland to this stage. They often meet outside locker rooms after games to catch up briefly before the next destination.

Capitals winger Stanislav Galiev had never met Samsonov, but he understood Samsonov’s anxiousness before his first development camp. Galiev and his wife offered to greet Samsonov, his mother and his girlfriend at the airport a few days before the start of camp.

“I don’t think he’s scared,” his mother, Natalia Samsonova, said in Russian. “He’s trying to adapt and understand. But fear, I don’t see in him. Everything’s interesting to him. For him, a new plan has appeared, something to move toward and how to work.”

Galiev took them to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse and then fielded a series of questions about what the week would be like. Galiev didn’t know any English when he first came to play in North America. He spent a season in the U.S. Hockey League before joining a Canadian junior team in Quebec. In those first practices, he would try to be the last skater in a drill, watching others ahead of him to get a sense of the instructions he didn’t understand.

“Put ourselves in their shoes,” said Olie Kolzig, a former Capitals goaltender and now the organization’s professional development coach. “Let’s say we go over to Russia, and other than a couple of curse words in Russian, I would have a very hard time getting along. I give these kids that come over here a lot of credit.”

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Galiev, 24, speaks English effortlessly now, thanks to a tutor and constantly being surrounded by North American teammates.

Also assisting Samsonov was recent Capitals draft pick Dmitriy Zaitsev, who played in the North American Hockey League last season and once played with Samsonov in Russia. Zaitsev’s English is limited, but he has learned by watching television shows such as “The Flash,” “Arrow” and “Game of Thrones.”

For the goalie sessions on the ice, Korn asked Capitals senior director of communications Sergey Kocharov to be his voice to Samsonov, with the three standing in a circle and gesturing animatedly.

Prospects such as Samsonov making their first professional visit to North America often find the language barrier just part of the challenge as they adjust to a different style of play and practice. When two pucks got past him in a drill, Samsonov leaned forward and lightly smacked his stick on the ice, a universal expression of frustration.

“You’ve got a guy from another country, who’s never been here, who speaks no English, who is in culture shock,” Korn said. “He just practiced harder than he’s ever practiced in his life in one day. That’s what we had on day one.”

Said Samsonov in Russian: “For now, nothing is clear.”

‘One word at a time’

Last summer with Czech goalie Vitek Vanecek, Korn tried a word a day, most connected to hockey — blocker, pad, mask, catch glove — and the Capitals connected Vanecek with a tutor and brought goalie coach Martin Laska to camp to interpret. A year and a season playing in South Carolina later, Vanecek has gone from someone who smiled and nodded a lot to being able to reveal his personality through a sarcasm he couldn’t express before.

“There’s no question that it’s hard to communicate, so it’s some sign language. It’s one word at a time, it’s getting good-looking interpreters, and you do the best you can,” Korn said. “Recognize it’s a process. As we did with Vitek, when Ilya comes here, we’ll get professional help.”

With two years left on his Kontinental Hockey League contract in Russia, it could be another two years before Samsonov plays in North America. He’s still unsigned, but the qualities that made him a first-round pick are evident: “Very big guy, very physical guy, fills a lot of net,” Korn said. “But it’s a whole different culture.”

Samsonov said he has purchased Apple TV with the intention of watching American shows and movies and picking up the language that way. His girlfriend knows some English, so she can help, too. The Capitals also already have a tutor in mind: Capitals Coach Barry Trotz’s son Tyson, who teaches in Russia. The goal is for the two to Skype once a week.

While Samsonov may not feel a sense of urgency to learn with his NHL career still years away, Kolzig remembered how important the language was for a young Alex Ovechkin.

“I think that’s what really endeared Ovi to his teammates back then: his willingness to learn and get involved in the North American culture as quickly as possible,” Kolzig said.

Samsonov said he has enjoyed the week and hasn’t felt ostracized, saying a few players even know some Russian words, typically the kind that translate into four-letter ones in English. After a practice Thursday, Samsonov signed a few autographs, nodding at what fans said to him. When someone held up a phone, he correctly assumed it was for a picture and obliged.

What was once incomprehensible is steadily becoming clearer.

“I’m already starting to slowly understand Mitch,” Samsonov said. “I think we’re finding a common language. I understand what they want to see from me, what they’re asking me.”