The Vegas Golden Knights have signed one of the very last few picks of the 2020 draft, inking Maxim Marushev to a two-year entry-level contract. The deal begins in the 2021-22 season, meaning he won’t be eligible for any action with the NHL club this year.
Already 22, Marushev went undrafted several times before the Golden Knights finally used the 215th overall pick on him in October. After recording 40 points in 35 VHL games last season and making his KHL debut, his numbers dropped considerably for the minor league Bars Kazan team in 2020-21, putting up just 21 points in 37 games. Regardless of the offensive decline, the Golden Knights still believe in him enough to hand over an entry-level deal and bring him into the organization.
It’s not clear what the plans are for the young Russian yet, or whether he’ll come over to join the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL down the stretch. For now, he’s just a seventh-round flier that the Vegas development staff will eagerly get their hands on at some point down the road.