Shortly after the Kingston Frontenacs announced that they had signed import Finnish defenseman Emil Pieniniemi, the London Knights also dipped into the CHL Import Draft to bolster their squad for the upcoming 2024-25 OHL season.
The Knights announced late Thursday afternoon that they have signed Russian forward Gleb Semenov to an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement.
London used their second pick, 118th overall, in the 2024 CHL Import Draft on the big Russian forward and have now successfully recruited their two picks in that draft (signed Jesse Nurmi earlier in the summer).
Semenov, 17, born on Feb. 17, 2007, is entering his first year of NHL Draft eligibility. He played seven games for MHK Spartak Moskva in the top major junior hockey league in Russia (MHL) and spent most of the year playing for Spartak Moskva’s U17 team, producing 16 goals and 37 points in 23 games.
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Elite Prospects website measures him in at 6-foot-3 and 183 pounds and shoots right. Over in Russia last year, he didn’t get the opportunity to showcase his talents, but he’ll be given a shot to earn a full-time role with the Knights for the 2024-25 season and onwards if he excels with the team.
McKeen’s Hockey European video Scout Steven Graves had this to say about Semenov:
“Semenov is a massive 2007-born centreman who is a hound with loose pucks in front of the net and has a touch of skill and vision that he uses to effectively find teammates for good scoring opportunities. He is a man amongst boys out there at times and can straight-up dominate the physical side of the game at this level. Semenov can be a great net-front presence for this Knights team and a guy that isn’t afraid to get physical.”
Sounds a bit like former overage forward Kaleb Lawrence who won an OHL Championship with London last season.
London’s two import players last year were San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen, who led the OHL Playoffs in goals with 17, and Ruslan Gazizov, who turned out to be a terrific import draft pick for the franchise.
Signing Semenov essentially tells us that the team is not expecting to get Halttunen back and Gazizov either is heading back to Russia or we can expect to hear his name in trade before the start of the season.
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