Los Angeles Kings‘ 6th round pick in the 2010 draft (#158 overall) Russian-born left wing Maxim Kitsyn(48) had a bit of a struggling first half of his rookie season, finding himself in an out of the lineup with AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs.
His 3 goals and 1 assist in 20 contests wasn’t enough to crack a tough roster of skaters that have mostly been together in the prospect system for awhile.
The sturdy 6’2″ 192 lbs. forward already has five seasons, 110 games of KHL experience to his credit. He put together 10 goals and 9 assists, playing in the league since he was 16-years old.
He also spent the latter half of 2010/2011 playing in the OHL with Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and parts of seasons in the Russian tier two league and juniors in his home country.
He was almost routinely a point-per-game guy in these levels of hockey.
Reassigned to double A affiliate Ontario Reign, he has managed to produce at a similar clip.
In 31 ECHL games he’s potted a handy 13 goals and 15 assists with an amazing +15 rating and has unloaded 100 shots on the net.
The 22-year old signed a three-year entry level contract and is definitely the exact kind of big frame offensive-minded player they call up to the NHL and sticks.
He can easily bring his game up to another level but will have to want it bad to get the look.