Silver Knights prepare for arrival of Russian prospect

Pavel Dorofeyev’s arrival in North America wasn’t expected until 2022 at the earliest.

But plans changed recently for the Russian forward.

A third-round pick in 2019 by the Golden Knights, Dorofeyev signed his entry-level contract last week and extricated himself from a situation in his home country that was threatening to stunt his development.

He was assigned to the Silver Knights and is expected to play in the American Hockey League this season, according to coach Manny Viveiros, though it’s unclear when Dorofeyev will arrive.

“We’re going to get a really young, exciting hockey player. Highly skilled,” Viveiros said. “As a coach, you’re always excited when you have that type of player here.”

Dorofeyev was a standout scorer in Russia’s junior league and appeared in 71 games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. He signed a two-year extension in October 2019 that would have kept him with the club through 2021-22.

But the prospect was involved in a blockbuster three-team, eight-player swap in June. Dorofeyev appeared in one KHL game with Traktor Chelyabinsk this season and spent most of his time in Russia’s equivalent of the minor league.

Dorofeyev, 20, reportedly terminated his contract in Russia before he signed a three-year deal with the Golden Knights on Monday.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon was not available to discuss the signing after three members of the Golden Knights’ coaching staff entered the NHL’s COVID protocols and Thursday’s game was postponed.

The Golden Knights haven’t had much success with Russian players, starting with Vadim Shipachyov’s brief stint with the club. One of the tasks for Viveiros and his staff will be to help Dorofeyev acclimate to North America.

Viveiros has experience working with European-born players who are still learning English from his time coaching in the major junior Western Hockey League and as an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers.

One of the first steps the Silver Knights’ coaching staff will take is to download a Russian translation app for their phones, Viveiros said.

“The hockey terminology is probably the quickest what they pick up,” Viveiros said. “There’s going to be growing pains, there’s no question about it. But we’re going to do everything we possibly can to make that transition for him as easy as possible.”

Chrome domes

The Silver Knights added another twist to their uniforms when they unveiled a chrome-colored helmet that will be worn during home games at Orleans Arena.

The helmets are intended to “pay homage to the armor knights wore into battle during medieval times,” but there’s definitely a vibe of beskar from “The Mandalorian” going on, too.

“I think there’ll be some funny pictures with reflections going off of them,” forward Ben Jones said. “They definitely are quite loud, but I think they look pretty good with our jerseys.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.