Friday: Sochi has officially announced Shen’s signing.
Tuesday: While many players will be heading to North America with NHL training camps about to open up, Bruins prospect Pavel Shen is heading the other way. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports (Twitter link) that the prospect will be signing with HK Sochi of the KHL for the remainder of their season.
The 21-year-old was a seventh-round pick of Boston back in 2018 (212th overall) and signed his entry-level deal just one year later. Last season, Shen played exclusively with Providence of the AHL and had a fairly quiet year offensively, notching just four goals and five assists in 35 games. Considering the restrictions on skaters allowed at training camp (36), it’s not a guarantee that he would have been among the invites and the AHL season is still another six weeks away at a minimum so his trip overseas will at least guarantee him some playing time in the short term.
This won’t be Shen’s first KHL action as he has spent time with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk and Salavat Yulaev in the past although he has managed just two goals and one assist in 49 games over that span. Once their season ends, he will be eligible to return to Providence and will be able to play down the stretch and in their postseason.