Athletistic / Hockey. Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod general director Alexander Kharlamov explained how his club acquired the rights to striker Vasily Atanasov. The 21-year-old Russian is one of the top scorers in the current KHL season.
“We took Atanasov from Ugra, and together with another striker Ivan Vorobyov. Then we paid them monetary compensation in the amount of 4.5 million rubles. It turns out that Atanasov cost us a little more than 2 million rubles. Here we must pay tribute to Sergei Gusev, the general director of the Khanty-Mansiysk club. This is not the first of their students to play in the KHL, being in a fairly good position .
When we brought Atanasov, he spent time in our youth team. It was obvious that a talented guy came to us, and then some coaching work was necessary. This is where Igor Nikolayevich Larionov got involved…
It is important that Vasily himself wants to develop and grow. But when you have such a mentor who helps you in difficult times, it’s wonderful.
I don’t have an answer to why NHL scouts ignored Atanasov for three straight drafts. I myself was a little surprised that he wasn’t drafted in 2023. But there’s nothing wrong with that. You understand that the project is a very conditional thing. Artemi Panarin was not drafted at all. Just like Sergei Bobrovsky or Andrei Kuzmenko,” Kharlamov quotes Match TV.
In nine matches of the current KHL season, Vasily Atanasov scored 11 points for his performance – he scored six goals and became the author of five assists.
Source: Sport
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
