The Sharks have loaned one of their prospects overseas as HC Torpedo of the KHL announced that they’ve added winger Ivan Chekhovich from San Jose. Unlike a lot of the loans in recent months, this one will be for the duration of the KHL season though he’ll be eligible to return to San Jose’s system after that.
The 21-year-old was a seventh-round pick (212th overall) of the Sharks back in 2017 and signed an entry-level deal following a dominant season in the QMJHL where he finished second in the league in scoring with 43 goals and 62 assists in 66 games with Baie-Comeau. As they were eliminated quickly in the playoffs, he was able to report to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and had seven points over nine contests between the end of the regular season and playoffs.
Accordingly, expectations were relatively high heading into his first full professional campaign but the results simply weren’t there. Chekhovich managed just four goals and eight assists in 42 games this past season before the pandemic put an end to the rest of their regular season and playoffs.
With that in mind, playing back home next season makes some sense as a way for Chekhovich to reset after a tough year. This is his first time with the Torpedo program as he was in Dynamo Moskva’s system before making his way to the major junior ranks.