Spitfires reclaim Russian forward Khokhlachev
Bruins draft pick in KHL this season
The Windsor Spitfires have spent the last two months trying to replace the offensive talents of Alex Khokhlachev, who left the team to play in the Kontinental Hockey League with Moscow Spartak.
Friday, the Spitfires went back to square one after waiving forward Juraj Bezuch and reclaiming Khoklachev off re-entry waivers.
“There have been some rumblings and maybe there’s a chance we have an opportunity here,” Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel said Friday while taking in his club’s game against the London Knights at Budweiser Gardens.
The five-foot-nine, 180-pound Bezuch was pointless in four games with the Spitfires after being acquired from the Kitchener Rangers for overagers Nick Czinder and Jeff Braitwaite along with a seventhround pick in the 2014 OHL Draft.
After sitting out the past two games, the Spitfires opted to waive the Slovakian native, who played in the Western Hockey League last season with Lethbridge.
“It just didn’t work out,” Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner said before Friday’s game.
It was the same for Vlad Ionin, who was taken by the Spitfires with the 15th overall pick in this year’s Canadian Hockey League Import Draft, but didn’t break camp with the club.
“The import draft has been a disaster for us from day one,” Rychel said. “You just never know what can happen.”
The Spitfires admit the club has no indications Khokhlachev has any intentions of returning to North American.
A second-round pick by the Boston Bruins in the 2011 NHL Draft, Khoklachev went home to Moscow this season to play for Spartak where his father Igor Khoklachev is general manager of the club. However, the slick 19-year-old centre has just one goal in 13 games and no assists. He has six penalty minutes and is a minus five with the team 5-6-11 and 11th in the Eastern Conference.
In two seasons in Windsor, the fivefoot10, 178- pound Khokhlachev had 59 goals and 145 points in 123 regular-season games along with nine goals and 20 points in 18 playoff games.
“We’re hoping there’s a chance,” Rychel said. “We’ve talked to a couple of people and there’s a chance. That’s a chance we’ll take and if it works out, it’ll be worth every second.”
Agent Mike Liut, who represents Khoklachev, was not available for comment Friday.
“This is a window of opportunity for Alex to come back to Windsor,” Rychel said. “If he is going to play in the CHL this year, it’s going to be for the Spitfires and he will be welcomed back.”