Sergei Shumakov, the top-20 point KHL scorer with awesome eagle tattoos, has arrived in DC and joined the team for Training Camp at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. The 26-year-old winger signed an entry-level, one-year, two-way deal for $925,000 on September 1, but his arrival in the US was delayed due to visa issues.
Shumakov has arrived and is scrimmaging with Capitals today at MedStar.
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) September 16, 2018
Shumakov posted a picture from the airport on Friday, but still had to complete his physical after arriving.
The Russian forward may have worn a 92 jersey when he proposed, but he’s traded that in for a white 17 practice jersey. That is the number he will be wearing the rest of the season.
Evgeny Kuznetsov spoke with reporters after Training Camp about what Shumakov can expect, and how the team can help with his transition to the US and to the NHL.
Shumakov and Evgeny Kuznetsov are from the same hometown, Chelyabinsk, Russia. The two players have known each other for years, and Kuznetsov helped convince Shumakov to join the Capitals.
“It’s not easy, you know. When you twenty-six, you have to change everything in your life,” Kuznetsov said. “Good thing for him we have a lot of Russian guys on our team, we can really help him. I really feel like our organization have time to give him chance to understand everything. We’re not going to force him to score 17 goals every game. ”
Isabelle Kurshudyan then asked him about the fact that Shumakov proposed while wearing a Kuznetsov jersey.
“I’ll talk to him about that,” Kuznetsov said with a laugh. Kuznestov said he knew the restaurant where Shumakov proposed, and that the restaurant had multiple jerseys on the premises.
Headline photo: @capitals
