Glotov has done that while working to improve his English. He said he has done that by watching “a lot of Netflix.” The British drama “Peaky Blinders” is his favorite show.

He spoke English well enough to conduct interviews after the Sabres drafted him in 2016. But a better grasp of the language has been critical to his success.

“You tell him, ‘Hey, this is what we need you to do,’ ” Thomas said. “He knows it all. He can repeat every one of our systems word-for-word, and I think that’s a special trait from not only a player that has a language barrier to begin with, but is known as an offensive player.”

Thomas has put more on Glotov’s plate, utilizing him as a shutdown forward against the opponent’s top line and in a penalty-killing role.

“He’s been tremendous with that,” said Thomas, who will coach Glotov and the Western Conference All-Stars. “He was a guy I was worried that it was going to be a long process to understand that he just can’t play one-on-one and be the dynamic offensive player that he is.

“But he’s a guy, he’s all in. … Give him a role and he’ll do the role.”

“I really enjoy when a coach puts me in a situation (where) he trusts me,” Glotov said.