ARLINGTON, VA — Ivan Miroshnichenko got his first taste of NHL hockey this week when he made his Capitals debut on Wednesday night. After signing his three-year, entry-level contract with the Capitals this past spring, Miroshnichenko began his first pro season in North America with the Hershey Bears before earning a call-up to Washington.
With two NHL games now under his belt, Miroshnichenko has managed to make a positive early impression on head coach Spencer Carbery. Though Miroshnichenko is still continuing to adjust to North America both on and off the ice, Carbery likes what he is seeing from the 19-year-old winger.
“Similar to what we saw in the preseason, there’s, you could see the offensive instincts from him in the first couple games,” Carbery said on Saturday. “There’s two or three sequences each game: probably more so, I thought he was better in the Islanders game than the Columbus game–back-to-back, travel, tough for a young player, first time going through that, playing in a hostile environment–of where you see he’s in good spots offensively and the puck finds him.”
Miroshnichenko averaged 9:55 of ice time over the two games, recording six shot attempts and three total shots on goal. He skated on the team’s second line with fellow Russian countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov and Matthew Phillips and earned a shift on the Capitals’ second power play unit against the Islanders.
Though Miroshnichenko has yet to register his first NHL point, Carbery saw moments in both games where he came close.
“Now all of a sudden he makes an unbelievable play in Columbus to Matt Phillips through the crease,” Carbery said. “Grade-A chance. Gets another chance in Columbus, a couple really good looks. He actually had another one that I just watched with him. Where he forechecks, he makes contact with (Islanders forward Casey) Cizikas, creates a turnover. All of a sudden, he’s got the puck out front of the net and he’s got a two-on-one.
“He ended up passing it, probably could have shot it. But point being is you see the offensive instincts and him getting to good spots and the puck following him around.”
Besides his offensive talent, Carbery highlighted Miroshnichenko’s ability to adapt to the team’s system, particularly given his current language barrier. Several of the Capitals’ Russian-speaking players have helped translate details for their young peer as Miro’s English remains spotty, making the amount he’s learned an even bigger achievement.
“For someone that his English is so minimal, him being able to take a few things from our structure and teaching and being able to implement that into a game I was impressed with,” Carbery explained. “Because I didn’t have high expectations from him from a systematic standpoint. Was probably, if I’m being honest, a little bit worried about that part of it for him. But I saw a few instances where he did a real good job, understood what we wanted to do: defending the rush, forecheck route, D-zone coverage, so that I was impressed with.”
Miroshnichenko will have another opportunity to prove himself Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning with the NHL’s holiday break just a day away. Although he is far from a fully-developed player, Carbery believes he is on his way.
“Does he have a long way to go? Absolutely. This is a really young player playing in the best league in the world. There’s a lot of little things inside of his game from just a simple growing, maturity, strength standpoint, but positive signs in the first two games.”
Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB
