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Could B's lose highly touted prospect to KHL?

May 27, 2012, 5:23 PM ET [30 Comments]
Ty Anderson
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Whether they want to come out and say it or not, there's obviously been a bit of hesitancy on the part of the Boston Bruins when it comes to drafting Russians.

Yury Alexandrov, taken by the B's with the 37th overall pick back in 2006, was a complete and total bust in one North American season before returning back to Russia. And given the way he's made strides in the KHL, becoming one of the better defenders in the league, it's hard to imagine a scenario where 22-year-old defensemen Max Chudinov (195th overall, 2010) leaves his home country in favor of bus rides and lineup jostling in Providence, setting him up to likely be another "uncommitted Russian."

But B's GM Peter Chiarelli and company felt that there was something different about forward Alexander Khokhlachev last summer. Projected to go late in the first round, the 5-foot-10 winger found his way all the way down to the No. 40 spot, a second round pick the Bruins acquired in the trade that sent Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild in Oct. 2010, and was immediately nabbed by the B's in what was quickly deemed a steal if there ever was one. Eligible for the draft by a whopping 120 hours, his age factored into why he fell down to the Bruins' late second round selection, but it was a club's ability to sign the Moscow-born forward that seemed to play the major factor for interested clubs.

Now, just one year later, it appears that the Bruins may be set to face that obstacle as Khokhlachev, with his second junior season with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League in the books, may be bolting off to Russia's KHL.

"I have no idea what he's doing," Windsor GM Warren Rychel told the Windsor Star on Friday when asked about Khokhlachev's plans for 2012-13, adding, "[Going to the KHL] could happen or it could not happen, I don't know yet."

Despite a junior career that's included 59 goals and 145 points in 123 contests for the Spitfires along with an impressive 20-point playoff run in 2011, there's a factor that nobody can match when it comes to keeping "KoKo" in North America: Family. With his father Igor named GM of Moscow Spartak this past Feb., for the Bruins, it's beginning to look as if it's entry-level contract or bust when it comes to keeping the 18-year-old out of a homecoming.

Confirmed by Igor, who told the Russian media that bringing Alexander over depends on negotiations with the Black-and-Gold before adding that he expected the B's to sign his son this summer, there's just a biiiit of an issue when it comes to accomplishing such a task. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, Khokhlachev, who turns 19 in September, can't play in the AHL. Essentially meaning that it's Boston for a season or back to Windsor after a nine-game trial, which in this case would seem to mean it'd be KHL time for KoKo.

Perhaps playing with pros in the 'K' wouldn't harm Khokhlachev's development as a professional hockey player, but it has proven to make bringing a talent back across the pond a problem for several clubs, making the obvious plea for him to stay here a reasonable one for both the Spitfires and Bruins.

"Koko has made great strides in his game as a Spitfire and has a little more refining to do before he embarks on a pro career," Windsor bench-boss Bob Boughner said to the Star on Friday. "We believe that we have best environment here in Windsor to do that."

But if Khokhlachev doesn't want to stay in Windsor, is there a spot for the talented forward in Boston? The scoring issues of the B's were made well known in their first round exit to the Washington Capitals this spring, and with all three components of the Bruins' third line set to become free agents (Chris Kelly and Brian Rolston are both unrestricted while Benoit Pouliot is restricted), there's a definite possibility that the 18-year-old could secure a spot on the top-nine this September.

In something that's nothing new to Boston hockey, with Patrice Bergeron making the team as an 18-year-old back in 2003 and Milan Lucic sticking with the Bruins past his nine-game trial in 2007 as a 19-year-old, there's a chance that Khokhlachev's skill could find its way to a stall in the Boston room this October (and beyond), but if not, the B's will certainly find themselves in a bizarre predicament. Watch Khokhlachev, one of your definitive draft steals walk away (likely) to Russia and hope he wants to come back next year, or sign him and hope he can adapt as a young gun in the Boston system.

In my mind, there's no doubting that one of the Bruins' three young prospects, Khokhlachev, Jared Knight, and Ryan Spooner, make the NHL club this fall, but is it possible that Khokhlachev makes it based purely out of forcing the B's hand?

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