Kravtsov trained with superstar Russian player before NHL comeback attempt with Vancouver Canucks
He was once one of the hottest prospects in hockey.
Vitali Kravtsov rocked up draft rankings in 2018 and ended up being drafted ninth overall by the New York Rangers.
However, the native of Eastern Russia never lived up to his draft stock.
Kravtsov was traded from the Rangers to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Will Lockwood and a 2026 seventh-round pick late in the 2023 season. After 16 unimpressive games with the Canucks, he went back to the KHL.
After two years playing in Europe’s top hockey league, he’s now back with the Canucks.
So, why come back now?
Kravtsov just had his best statistical season in the KHL. He finished sixth in league scoring with 58 points in 66 games. He also helped Chelyabinsk Traktor make it to the KHL finals, where they eventually lost to Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.
“It was a good experience, but I’m still not happy about [losing in the final],” Kravtsov told Daily Hive following the first day of training camp in Penticton. “It’s so hard to get there.”
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound winger skated with some of Russia’s best hockey players over the summer, including Igor Shesterkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Kirill Kaprizov.
“Oh, [Kaprizov] is insane,” Kravtsov said. “He’s just a beauty, off ice and on ice. I mean, every day you can ask him something, and he’s going to help you.”
Aside from the point totals, Kravtsov believes he has a better understanding of what it takes to play in the NHL now, and he credits his KHL coach.
“We had a French Canadian coach [Benoit Groulx],” Kravtsov said. “I learned from him a lot about how to translate my game from there to here, just learned a lot about trying to be better defensively and offensively.”
So, after two years in the KHL, does Kravtsov believe he has what it takes to defy the odds and make this Canucks roster?
“I don’t know, everyone is so good,” Kravtsov replied.
“I can shoot, I can make plays, but I need to translate from here to there,” he said. “It’s going to be hard.”
“I’m here to show my best hockey and keep improving, every practice, every day, and show that I deserve a spot on this team.”
For the Canucks, it’s basically a no-risk signing. Kravtsov is on a one-year deal, making a league minimum $775,000. That’s likely a bit less than he would make in the KHL, but not by much. And the door is always open to go back if his last chance at NHL success doesn’t work out.
Kravtsov would also have to go through waivers if the Canucks try to send him to Abbotsford. If he has a good training camp and preseason, another team could try and claim him.
This is Kravtsov’s first NHL training camp since 2022, and his first with the Canucks.
“It’s so different,” he said. “Here, everybody already shows up ready to play. Over there, you can be like 80 per cent ready, but here it’s just like, first day, and you have to be ready to go.”