Photo credit: @boogaard1975

CSKA Moscow acquired the KHL rights to Caps defenseman Dmitry Orlov on Wednesday, as well as those of another youngster from Novokuznetsk who has struggled to secure a spot in the NHL, Ivan Telegin. Some wondered what it may or may not mean for the young defenseman’s NHL career, including another promising Russian youngster who just so happens to be property of the Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Kuzneysov spoke about Orlov’s transaction in an interview with R-Sport:

I talk to Dima, although not as often as I would like, because of the time difference. He is a good person, positive and funny. Is he coming back to Russia? I don’t know, I haven’t heard, lets wait.

Kuznetsov also said that his shoulder is healing well; he is expected to make his comeback from the injury on Wednesday, when his Traktor faces off against the KHL powerhouse SKA St Petersburg. He also told the interviewer that he follows the NHL by watching the highlights on NHL.com:

I really like the nice camera work, the replays are great, and as far as the game quality – I don’t think I even need to say anything, everybody understands very well.

And of course, Kuzya is not just an impartial observer of the NHL spectacle.

Washington is playing well, scoring a lot of goals. Sasha Ovechkin is the scoring leader. I root for them, want Washington to win the Stanley Cup this season

The “Washington is playing well” part of the statement may be somewhat questionable, but hey– at least his heart is in the right place!

P.S. RMNB also reached out to Orlov for his comments regarding the transfer of his KHL rights to CSKA. As he told Tim Leone earlier Thursday, this development does not in any way affect his intention to get back on the Capitals roster. Dima also told us that while he was aware that Novokuznetsk was considering selling his rights to another team, no one from CSKA has contacted him– neither before nor since the transaction.