Since signing with the Chicago Blackhawks as an unrestricted free agent at the age of 23, Artemi Panarin has 102 points in 106 games. Pretty damn good for a guy on an ELC (He actually has an AAV of 3.5 million though).

That’s the gold standard and real main reason teams sign young, perhaps overlooked players out of the KHL. While it may be uncommon, you are hoping for a guy like Panarin who you can acquire without overpaying in free agency (undrafted Russians are restricted to signing two-year ELC’s), or without giving up assets such as a draft pick or through trade, to come and make an impact in your lineup. Many Russians have come over to the NHL and found success, just look at Nikita Zaitsev of the Toronto Maple Leafs, or Alexander Radulov of the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately, while playing quite well, Zaitsev is not performing on par to the ability of Panarin. Meanwhile, Radulov is, yet he’s 30 and making 5.75 million a year.

Today, we are going to attempt to do NHL general manager’s jobs for them, trying to find the next young, cheap, high-scoring, undrafted free agent. We are trying to find the next Artemi Panarin.

To find a player like Panarin, you first need to know what kind of a player Panarin was pre-NHL. As a 23 year old, Panarin was tied for fourth in KHL scoring with 62 points in 54 games, leading his team in scoring with only 15:59 TOI/G. The year before, his fourth full season, he had another top-10 scoring race finish, with 40 points in 51 games.

Looking at KHL scoring over the last two years, only 8 players 24 and under have had or been on track for 40 points over a 60 game season. 4 of them have been drafted to the NHL. Nikita Gusev of the Lighning has a jaw-dropping 43 points in 31 games as a 24 year old, but is under contract until 2018 so doesn’t look like he’ll be signing anywhere anytime soon. Pavel Buchnevich has 8 points already playing for the New York Rangers. Anatoly Golyshev was drafted in the 4th round by the Islanders after scoring 44 points last year. Kirill Kaprizov has 26 points this season and is Minnesota Wild property.

When lowering the bar from Panarin’s final KHL year to any 24 year old or under who has scored or been on track for 40 points, and is undrafted, we are left with only FOUR names; 24 year old Sergei Shumakov, 22 year old Alexander Barabanov, 21 year old Vladimir Tkachev, and 23 year old Vladimir Tkachev. Yes you read that right, two of the top 4 undrafted, young, Russian players are named Vladimir Tkachev.

21 year old Tkachev had his chance to be drafter out of the QMJHL when he went PPG as an overager, so while his 25 points in 30 games this year is impressive, as a player who is only 5’10” and 144 pounds, I don’t see him being signed any time soon. Sergei Shumakov has shown solid progression in each of his years in the KHL, leading up to him scoring at an 0.94 points per game rate. His shot and skills are very impressive, and his contract reportedly ends after this season, so he is the most likely to be signed and hopefully have an impact. Barabanov and the other Tkachev aren’t anything too impressive, and presumably wouldn’t have a large impact in North America.

So, after scouring all these stats we found one young player who looks like he could have an impact on an NHL roster who is a free agent. As of right now, it seems very unlikely any NHL team would be able to find the next Panarin. That is, unless, they have better scouts than me, a teen looking at stats and highlight vids behind a laptop in Canada. So, no way, right?

Thanks so much for reading guys, hope you enjoyed. Any constructive criticism or ideas for future blogs are appreciated. If you like what I post and want to hear more, shorter opinions, or want to be alerted whenever I post a new blog, follow my twitter @DubasKnowsBest

And remember, Dubas knows best.