Columbus Blue Jackets sign Dmitri Voronkov: 3 things to know
Dmitri Voronkov is officially a Blue Jacket.
The talented Russian center joined the Blue Jackets on Thursday by agreeing to a two-year, entry-level contract about a week after helping Ak Bars Kazan advance to the Kontinental Hockey League’s Gagarin Cup final.
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Voronkov, 22, will challenge for an NHL spot during his first Blue Jackets training camp and could make an immediate splash as a burly 6-foot-4 center. The contract will pay Voronkov $832,500 at the NHL level and $70,000 at the AHL rate in both years.
“He plays a North American style of game," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "It will still be an adjustment, just like (Kirill) Marchenko went through an adjustment here, but he’s very well-seasoned to come here. That’s why I would compare him more to (Vladislav) Gavrikov, who came in, stepped in and made an impact on our team right away.”
Here are three things to know about Voronkov:
Dmitri Voronkov is a plug-and-play forward for Columbus Blue Jackets
Just like other European and Russian players, it’ll probably take a little time for Voronkov to adjust to the NHL’s faster game on smaller rinks. Once he’s used to the North American style, Voronkov could assert himself quickly as a valuable NHL forward with a tantalizing combination of size, strength, skill and grit.
“He scores a lot of goals that are so-called ‘dirty’ or from the ‘dirty areas,’ of the ice," Kekalainen said. "He scores most of his goals within 10 feet of the net and he’s great around the net. He tips pucks and gets rebounds. That fits the North American style on the smaller rink real well.”
Whether Voronkov is utilized as a hard-driving winger or center, his natural position, look for him to carve out a regular NHL role in Columbus sooner than later.
Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Dmitri Voronkov is a power center
The Blue Jackets’ lack of depth at center has plagued them for a long time, but that could soon change.
Boone Jenner has proven he can handle a top-six center role and would become one of the NHL’s best checking centers if slotted into the middle of the third line. The Blue Jackets could also add an elite center with a top-four pick in this year’s draft, still have Patrik Laine hoping to convince them he’s a top center option and have two youngsters — Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson ― who could each center a top-six forward line at some point.
Sean Kuraly is one of the NHL’s most unheralded checking-oriented centers, Jack Roslovic has experience at center, Alexandre Texier could even step into the middle, if needed, and now they’ll have Voronkov.
Adding him to the mix is different than getting a rookie from the U.S. college ranks or Canadian major junior leagues. Voronkov has played in five KHL seasons for Ak Bars, centering the top line, and helped that team come within one victory of winning the Gagarin Cup this season. He has also played for Russia at the men's world championship and won a gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
“He’s played with men for quite a while now," Kekalainen said. "He’s played in the men’s world championships, played in the Olympics, so he’s probably a little more seasoned than most of the guys are coming to North America. You’re not getting your typical rookie.”
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This season, Voronkov had 18 goals, 13 assists and 31 points in 54 games before adding 7-4-11 during Ak Bars' 24-game postseason run. Voronkov, who’s played in five straight KHL playoffs, has won 52% of 768 draws he’s taken for Ak Bars over 182 games.
He’s also a penalty-killer who isn’t afraid to block shots.
![Columbus Blue Jackets center Matt Duchene (95) celebrates scoring the game-winner with left wing Nick Foligno (71) during the second overtime of Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston on Saturday, April 27, 2019. [Adam Cairns/Dispatch]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/7Beum9yZGJuS6UV2gLGpDg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0Mg--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the-columbus-dispatch/ba93ab8d6527694757946cfea5add9fc)
Dmitri Voronkov can further justify Columbus Blue Jackets' trades
Kekalainen went into the 2019 NHL draft with just two picks after stocking up at the trade deadline.
Rather than acquiring prospects and/or picks for Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, who’d made it clear they were leaving as free agents, Kekalainen acquired center Matt Duchene and forward Ryan Dzingel from the Ottawa Senators before adding defenseman Adam McQuaid from the New York Rangers and depth goalie Keith Kinkaid from the New Jersey Devils.
He went into the draft with only a third-round pick (No. 81 overall) and a seventh-round pick (No. 212) and made just one trade with the Florida Panthers to increase that number. The third-round pick was spun off for two fourth-round picks the Panthers had acquired from the Minnesota Wild (No. 104) and rival Pittsburgh Penguins (No. 114).
Voronkov was selected with the pick that originally belonged to the Penguins, which could make that season even sweeter for Blue Jackets fans, who already savor the historic first-round sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning that year.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Three things to know about Blue Jackets rookie Dmitri Voronkov
