The Calgary Flames have played a trick on hockey writers everywhere, loaning Dmitry Zavgorodniy to SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. The announcement does not indicate whether the young forward will be returning to North America when camp opens, but Ryan Pike of FlamesNation notes that the team will be able to recall him at that time.
Zavgorodniy, 20, is coming off three seasons with the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL, including an outstanding 2019-20 that saw him register 29 goals and 67 points in just 40 games. A seventh-round pick in 2018, he stands just 5’9″ but has shown enough to earn the entry-level contract he signed in 2019.
Like so many other teams around the league, the Flames will use overseas loans as a way to keep their prospects playing and developing while the AHL figures out how and when to stage a 2020-21 season. Zavgorodniy is joining a strong team in SKA, one that he’ll have to battle for playing time on.