In March, just as teams were starting to put together their boards for the 2022 NHL Draft, some terrible news came out about a top prospect. Ivan Miroshnichenko, a player some expected to go very close to the top of the first round, had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, cancer that affects the immune system. It was unclear at the time whether he would play at all in 2022-23.
That started a freefall in his ranking (combined with the geopolitical factors affecting Russian players), and though he was cleared to return to training more than a month before the draft, Miroshnichenko was no longer the top-ten selection that many assumed a few months earlier. Instead, he fell to the Washington Capitals at No. 20 which was still ahead of fellow Russian forward Danila Yurov – who went four picks later to the Minnesota Wild – but much lower than expected.
Today, Capitals assistant general manager Ross Mahoney gave Tom Gulitti of NHL.com an update on the young prospect. Miroshnichenko has been cleared to return to the ice, has been skating, and expects to play this season. Unfortunately, he still needs to wait for clearance from the actual KHL to get into any game action.
While that may not be ideal in terms of his development, it is great news to hear that he has progressed to this point so quickly. The 18-year-old is a brilliant skater and had even appeared as a potential challenger for the first-overall pick at one point. Under contract in Russia through 2023-24, the Capitals will have to wait patiently to see if their pick was a worthwhile one.