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Ivan Miroshnichenko makes KHL debut with Avangard Omsk, skates solo rookie lap before game

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Ivan Miroshnichenko got the rookie treatment before his KHL debut against Traktor Chelyabinsk, Sunday.

Miroshnichenko skated a few solo laps before the rest of his Avangard Omsk teammates, who paused in the tunnel to the locker room, joined him out on the ice.

Miroshnichenko, despite the bit of early teasing, was all smiles as he darted out for warmups.

To earn the moment and his KHL debut, the 18-year-old sniper recorded 14 points (8g, 6a) over ten games across two different levels of Russian hockey this season after returning from Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment.

Miroshnichenko skated as Avangard Omsk’s thirteenth forward in the game, filtering in with shifts on the team’s fourth line.

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.

Sunday was his first foray into Russia’s top professional league.

His first-ever shift was cut short just six seconds in as one of his teammates took an almost immediate delay of game penalty. His second shift was much more impactful as he laid two really solid hits on opponents.

In his debut, Miroshnichenko was only given five shifts total. That came out to be 4:28 of ice time. It is not abnormal in the KHL for younger players to see that sort of deployment in their first games in the league.

“The debut is great,” the 18-year-old winger told Hockey News Hub postgame. “I think I got good shifts, but there were not very many of them. I was not particularly nervous, I was preparing for this match for a very long time. The debut is a long-awaited event. All relatives were waiting, everyone congratulated me. I saw and heard the performance of the fans, everything is fine.

“The main thing for me is to justify my expectations and achieve my goals,” he continued. “To gain a foothold in the Avangard is the number one goal for now. The main goal is to get into the NHL and play there all my life, like Sanya Ovechkin and other stars.”

The Capitals top forward prospect was also awarded the team’s shield for player of the game during postgame locker room celebrations.

Well done, Ivan!

Screenshot via @avangard_inside/Instagram

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