After missing out on Maxim Shabanov in the summer, the Philadelphia Flyers could dip right back into the KHL free agent pool this coming offseason.
It goes without saying, at this point, that center is the weakest position for the Flyers at the NHL level. If they play their cards right, they can add a rather large pivot from Belarus in the coming months.
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The top KHL free agent heading into this offseason is none other than center Vitali Pinchuk, who has exploded for 31 goals, 33 assists, and 64 points in 62 KHL games for Dinamo Minsk this season.
Pinchuk, 24, is a powerful 6-foot-3 center who’s shown positive progression offensively each year since his KHL debut back in 2020-21.
The size alone should make him more appealing to the Flyers than Maxim Shabanov was, and it helps that he’s only gotten better with time.
Pinchuk’s first full KHL season came back in 2022-23, when he scored eight goals, six assists, and 14 points in 61 games. In 2023-24, those totals improved to nine goals, 13 assists, and 22 points in 43 games.
Last year was the first major step forward for the undrafted center, as he racked up 25 goals, 18 assists, and 43 points in 66 games.
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Another factor worth considering for the Flyers, too, is that Pinchuk has 15 points in 20 career Gagarin Cup playoff games. They need young, big-game players for when they make their playoff pushes in the future, and Pinchuk fits the bill.
When it comes to landing the Belarusian buzzsaw, the Flyers have plenty of connections available to them to help make it happen.
Somewhat uncommon for Russian and Belarusian players, Pinchuk actually spent a season — 2019-20 — in the OHL, playing for the Kingston Frontenacs. One of his teammates on that Kingston team was Flyers prospect Zayde Wisdom, who is still with the organization on an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
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At the professional, and perhaps more significantly, the Flyers have Belarusian goalie prospect Aleksei Kolosov, who came up with Pinchuk through the Belarus youth system in U18s and U20s, and played with him on Dinamo Minsk before leaving for the Flyers.
After a rocky start, Kolosov has adjusted well to life in North America primarily playing in Allentown with the Phantoms, and perhaps there is nobody better to recruit Pinchuk and pitch the organization than him.
Kolosov’s taken a major step forward this season and has an outside shot at an NHL future with the Flyers, and perhaps adding an old pal to the fold would benefit all parties involved.
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