Caps sign first-round pick Miroshnichenko to entry-level deal originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Capitals signed forward prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko to a three-year, entry-level contract Monday, the team announced. Miroshnichenko, 19, will earn $855,000 in the NHL and $82,500 in the AHL under the terms of the deal.
Washington drafted the Russian winger with the No. 20 overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Originally a projected top-10 pick, Miroshnichenko fell down draft boards after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma that March. However, he resumed on-ice workouts in June after multiple rounds of chemotherapy before making his KHL debut in December.
Miroshnichenko appeared in 55 games across three different levels of professional and junior hockey in Russia this season. After putting up four points in 23 games while skating limited minutes for the KHL’s Avangard Omsk, he joined the lower-level MHL Omskie Yastreby for their playoff run and tallied two goals and five assists in 16 games.
Avangard announced earlier Monday that it had agreed to a mutual KHL contract termination with Miroshnichenko, paving the way for him to sign with the Capitals. He’s the second player to sign an entry-level deal with the Capitals in a matter of days after they inked Swedish defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell to a one-year, two-way contract Thursday.
Listed at 6-foot-one, 185 pounds, Miroshnichenko takes one step closer to realizing his NHL dream and immediately becomes one of the team’s most high-profile prospects under contract.
