Washington Capitals top forward prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko has had quite an impressive season after making his return from Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment in early November. The 18-year-old sniper has recorded 14 points (8g, 6a) over ten games across two different levels of Russian hockey.

Now, Miroshnichenko is set to play in his first-ever KHL game with Avangard Omsk on Sunday. The news was announced by Avangard head coach Mikhail Kravets.

“So far, none of the injured at Avangard is coming out, but we will involve Ivan Miroshnichenko and Gleb Trikozov, perhaps,” Kravets told Championat’s Lev Lukin via Google Translation. “Plus, we have two defenders – Mikhail Gulyaev and Timofey Davydov. Yes, we plan to involve Miroshnichenko in the next match with Traktor.”

The 2022 first-round draft pick has spent the majority of his return season in the MHL with the Omsk Hawks. The MHL is a junior league made up of players no older than 20. He has also played two games in the VHL, the KHL’s AHL equivalent, with the Omsk Wings.

Former Carolina Hurricanes winger and one of Avangard’s star forwards, Sergei Tolchinsky was asked by Match TV’s Pavel Lysenkov about Miroshnichenko’s prospective debut.

“Ivan Miroshnichenko will make his debut in the next match for Avangard in the KHL,” Lysenkov started. “Long awaited event?”

“We see that Vanya has a very good start to this season,” Tolchinsky replied. “He is a big guy. Already gone through a lot. He has a huge heart, great fortitude. We wish Miroshnichenko good luck and will help him in every way we can.”

Miroshnichenko is set to play for the first time in his career at Russia’s top professional level against Evgeny Kuznetsov’s former team, Traktor Chelyabinsk. The debut will be a long time coming for a player that has gone through more than most his age.

Last March, Miroshnichenko was given a shock diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The talented youngster was in the middle of his first NHL Draft eligible season and was projected to be taken off the board very early in the first round.

“It appeared as itching, coughing, sweating,” Miroshnichenko told Match TV a few weeks ago. “I didn’t understand. How could I know what was the reason? Well, I cough – I drink syrup. I began to get very tired, suffocated at the games. In hockey, we are examined twice a season. I took tests, and they told me – some kind of bad blood.

“Well, that’s all, they began to drive me to the doctors, to check everywhere,” he continued. “Went to a clinic in Germany. They took a biopsy and cut out one lymph node. And they diagnosed it as Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I decided that I needed to pull myself together and be positive. I read on the Internet that athletes have already defeated this disease. A Canadian snowboarder had been ill with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but he returned to sports. Now he wins and enjoys life.”

It wasn’t an easy journey, but Miroshnichenko was able to get back into the gym and train again in June. His return to full, on-ice team practice with Avangard Omsk’s VHL affiliate happened in late October.

“I went through four cycles of chemotherapy,” Miroshnichenko said. “The second one was the most painful for me. I went to the hospital to lie down. I could no longer be at home. After the second course, they said that everything was clean. I went through the third and fourth courses of chemotherapy calmly, with joy.”

Now, Miroshnichenko is ready to put the work in to make his way to the NHL. He is well on his way after his impressive start in the Russian junior ranks this season and will get to show even more with this KHL debut.

“I will prove that [the Capitals] did not make a mistake with the choice,” Miroshnichenko finished. “But this must be done step by step. And first, play in Russia. Climb the stairs – MHL, VHL, KHL, national team. Everything has its time. And whatever happens, it’s all for the best.”

Headline photo: Cara Bahniuk/RMNB