Ivan Miroshnichenko, the Capitals’ first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, will make his NHL debut against the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.
Miroshnichenko is believed to have first learned of his first NHL call up on Monday, leaving Hershey for DC in the afternoon.
The Russian rookie, along with fellow call-up Hendrix Lapierre, took the ice with the Capitals on Tuesday morning. Shortly after the skate, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery invited Miroshnichenko and Belorussian forward Aliaksei Protas, his translator for the meeting, into his office.
Here’s how the conversation went.
Spencer Carbery: Tell me, how has it been going in Hershey? Process playing in Hershey. How does he feel about his game?
Aliaksei Protas: So he said he was struggling from the start with from like being in the spot, like position wise.
Spencer Carbery: Positioning?
Aliaksei Protas: Yeah, positioning. He struggled with that from the start.
[Carbery scrawls something into his notepad]Spencer Carbery: Does he feel like that’s gotten better?
Aliaksei Protas: Yeah, way more comfortable now.
Spencer Carbery: Way more comfortable?
Aliaksei Protas: Yeah, yeah.
Spencer Carbery: Does he feel like (he’s) ready to play in the NHL?
Ivan Miroshnichenko interjects in English: Yes! [Smiles big]
Aliaksei Protas: Yes.
Spencer Carbery: How about the competitiveness? Work? The compete? How does he feel?
Ivan Miroshnichenko in English: Of course. [Big smile] [Aliaksei Protas shakes his head and smiles]
Spencer Carbery: You tell him how hard you have to compete every shift? Are you going to show him the way?
Aliaksei Protas: Yeah, sure. I’ll show him the way!
Spencer Carbery: You ready for this moment?
Ivan Miroshnichenko in English: Yea! [Another big smile]
Spencer Carbery: All right.
[Editor’s note: It’s worth noting that during the emotional reveal, Protas was fully barefoot and wearing a Capsgiving giveaway shirt featuring the Weagle logo as a turkey.]
Miroshnichenko, who has scored eight goals and tallied 15 points in 27 games for AHL Hershey, was playing on the Bears’ first line upon his recall.
“I’m nervous because basically I went through so many circumstances and different situations in my life,” Miroshnichenko said, referring to his battle with Hodkin’s lymphoma. “Worked for that for my whole life and everybody nervous, family is nervous. So just so excited about tomorrow.”
Carbery’s questions about positioning are likely related to his healthy scratch in mid-November where Todd Nelson had the left winger sit upstairs with Dmitry Osipov to better understand where he should be without the puck.
“In all reports, talking to Todd Nelson yesterday, he’s shown signs of improvement through the process down there,” Carbery said. “Obviously we know the offensive ability that he has and the scoring that he’s done down there. It’s his play away from the puck, his details inside of his game. Those have gotten better over the last little stretch, so we’ll get him up here.”
The rookie head coach did not have high expectations for the talented prospect to get on the scoresheet, but did hope he assimilates quickly and tries his best on the finer points of the game.
“I would like to see him look as comfortable as he can from a pace of play standpoint and a competitiveness standpoint,” Carbery said. “Puck battles, forecheck pressure, getting involved defensively. It’s sort of hard to explain, but I just want to see him compete at that level. I have zero expectations on the offensive, scoring chances, scoring a goal. That stuff I know will look after itself and he’s a real young player. There won’t be any level of expectations put on him in that department. Just want him to go out there and compete and show that he can keep up with the pace of the NHL.”
Miroshnichenko will begin the game skating on the third line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lapierre. Carbery believes having a Russian speaker will aid Miro in his debut.
“Kuz is a good insulator for that, someone that communicates a lot on the ice as it is,” Carbery said. “And then also to have a Russian counterpart there will also help that process as well.”
Miroshnichenko, who has liked posts about Kuznetsov on RMNB’s Instagram, was genuinely honored to play with the Chelyabinsk native in his first NHL game.
“I’m so happy to play with such a star player like Kuzy,” Miroshnichenko said. “Good thing he’s Russian-speaking, so he can help me a lot to get to play in that level. And he’ll help me, that’s good. So I hope I’ll assist on his couple goals and he’ll assist on mine.”
Any player I’ve asked about Miroshnichenko in Hershey has said virtually the same thing: he’s a great kid. But not only that, he’s been chomping at the bit to get a chance to play in the greatest league in the world.
Tonight he will get his chance, and he’s certainly earned it.
Screenshot: @Capitals/X
