The next season of the National Hockey League is inexorably approaching its long-awaited start. Right now, NHL clubs are holding training camps and in-person testing matches. After all, there are no training camps in the main hockey league in the form we are accustomed to: players individually prepare themselves physically in the off-season, and upon arrival at the team’s location they participate in bilateral matches and, accordingly, friendly games.
Obviously, one of the main intrigues of the new NHL season for both Russian and North American audiences remains the number of goals that Washington Capitals leader Alexander Ovechkin will score as he continues his great pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's record. But somewhere not far from it stands the figure of Ivan Miroshnichenko. The 19-year-old Russian forward has come a long way in a relatively short period of time: at the beginning of 2022, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a few months later he underwent treatment and overcame cancer, and was drafted by the Capitals in the first round, 20th overall, in the summer. and in the fall he began playing hockey again and made his debut in the KHL in December. True, in the Omsk Avangard, whose school Ivan went through, the striker did not stay long — in the spring of 2023, he terminated his contract with the Hawks and moved to Washington.
During this off-season, Miroshnichenko has already managed to impress the American public and the “capital” team really liked both his play and physical condition. The club's management especially noted the Russian's shooting ability and ability to fight with strength — something for which Alexander Ovechkin is famous.
«»Miro has a powerful shot. He has a scoring instinct and is physically strong. Opponents have to keep their heads up, otherwise he will blow them away. He was captain of both his under-18 team and vice-captain of the under-20 team when he he himself was only 17. So he has the right character. Miro is a goal-oriented guy and wants to be the best,» said Caps assistant general manager Ross Mahoney.
Ivan Miroshnichenko himself, in a December interview with Sport, noted that his dream is not only to play in the National Hockey League, but also to share the ice with Ovechkin himself. Yes, these two forwards are compared for a reason, and some even see Alexander’s heir in Ivan:
«»I am very pleased with the fact that my name appears in the same sentence as Alexander Ovechkin. I hope that he will soon break Wayne Gretzky's eternal record. I want this to happen as quickly as possible. So that Sanya does not delay this. I hope when — to play with him. And to assist Ovi on a record-breaking goal is a dream. I would like to spend my entire career with the Capitals. Washington drafted me in the first round after a serious illness. So, the organization saw something in me «I hope to be ready for Washington when my time comes.»
Ivan MiroshnichenkoForward «Washington Capitals»
Miro's hopes were not in vain. Even though this only concerns the preseason, the young Russian has already played with the lion of Russian and world hockey. For the game with the Detroit Red Wings, the new head coach of the Capitals, Spencer Carbery, specifically put Ivan in the same three as Ovi. And this is surprising, because by nature Miroshnichenko is an extreme left striker, like Ovechkin. But for the sake of their joint link, the coach of the Capitals put Ivan on the right edge.
«»System and structure are not important. I don't want Miroshnichenko to think too much about it. I want to see him go out and work as hard as he can. I want to see his skating. Yes, he played left almost his entire career flank, but his place in Ovi’s line is more important than his position,” Carbury explained his decision.
And Miroshnichenko’s debut was beyond all praise. Yes, this is just a test match as part of the pre-season training camp, but it’s impossible not to note the performance of the young Russian.
In the first shift, Ivan demonstrated an attitude of creativity in attack and a desire to fight with strength: he was not shy, not afraid, and took the initiative in team actions. This is also noted by American journalists who write about everything related to the life of the Capitals. One after another on their social networks they admired the Russian’s actions on the court. And there were reasons for this.
Miroshnichenko took part in Washington’s first goal, becoming the author of the so-called secondary assist. Ivan threw the puck into the boards, after which Alexander Ovechkin picked up the projectile. The capital's captain finished the attack with a goal, assisted by his old friend Niklas Backström.
Later, Ovechkin could lead Miroshnichenko himself to score. Alexander made a cool pass into the free zone, where Ivan had every opportunity to score with a goal. Either due to inexperience, or due to some nervousness, the young Russian was unable to beat the Detroit goalkeeper.
But he made up for this mistake with another effective action: Miro supported the next attack of the Capitals and softly passed it from a turn to nickel, where John Carlson skillfully figured it out.
In total, Miroshnichenko played more than 16 minutes and spent 18 shifts, making three shots on target and performing the same number of power moves. In these components, the Washington newcomer surpassed even Ovi. After the match, Ivan gave a short interview to American journalists and shared his impressions of the experience. True, the Russian still has problems communicating with the local press. Miro is just learning English and, according to the hockey player, is actively working with a tutor, but cannot refuse the services of a translator. Today they, the translator, were… Ovechkin.
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“In the first period, emotions went through the roof. Playing with people like that… I used to watch them on TV, and Ovi had just been drafted when I was born. For me, this is very encouraging,” said Miro.
By the way, Ovechkin and Miroshnichenko were not the only Russian forwards for Washington who scored assists. Evgeny Kuznetsov also announced himself. One of his latest interviews with Russian media impressed North America, but not in a good way. The NHL and Washington were puzzled by some of Kuzi’s statements amid rumors about his alleged desire to achieve a trade from the capital’s club, and local journalists predicted a much more difficult season for the Russian than he expected. One way or another, today Evgeniy helped Tom Wilson score — he won a throw-in in the opponent's zone and rolled the puck under the half-timer of Washington's Canadian thug.
As a result, 4:3 in favor of Washington. The game itself and the result are not worthy of any global conclusions, but the match was absolutely brilliant for the Russian viewer.