After some rumors and speculation it’s now official: the Vancouver Canucks have signed big-sized Vancouver Canucks defenseman Nikita Tryamkin to an entry-level contract, as announced on the team’s official Twitter account.
Benning said #Canucks have filed a contract for Nikita Tryamkin; he will play in Van this season. “He’s 6-8, 240 and moblie, he’s a freak”
— Vancouver Canucks (@VanCanucks) March 9, 2016
Tryamkin recently finished his KHL season in Ekaterinburg with a playoff first-round defeat against Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
“My contract with Avtomobilist is expired, we got out of the playoffs. Why shouldn’t I try to go now?”, the big defenseman told the TASS earlier today. “My size should help me, playing on the small ice won’t be a surprise.”
He also said that he already knows some players of the team: “I skated in the preseason camps with four players now in the Canucks roster. At the WJC, at the bronze game medal, I played against Bo Horvat. They are all good and friendly guys, I liked being with them.
“I’m yet to talk with the team’s representatives right now, everything passed through my agent. Vancouver wanted me for a lot of time already. My goal now is to win a spot in the lineup, then we’ll see how the next season will start. If they’ll send me to the AHL, maybe I’ll go back to Avtomobilist. The conditions are optimal to me, if I won’t make the NHL, it’s probably better to get back to Russia and keep on playing for my home club.”
Tryamkin was drafted by the Canucks with the 2014 66th overall pick. Recently, the player’s agent, Vladimir Zorkin, told the TASS that Tryamkin signed a three-year contract, but it looks like the contract will be a two-year deal, according to Canucks Army. The Ekaterinburg, Russia, native spent four seasons in the KHL and his international experience is highlighted by the participation to the 2014 WJC (where he helped Team Russia come home with a bronze medal) and the 2016 Spengler Cup (semifinals loss). Tryamkin will turn 22 next Aug. 30. In the 2015-16 campaign with Avtomobilist, he scored four goals and 11 points, being a minus-3 in 53 regular season games. He also added a helper in six postseason games for the KHL franchise.
It is expected that Tryamkin will soon play his first NHL game and it will be interesting to see how he will adapt to the more demanding North American game.
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A professional hockey writer and translator. Loves Russian culture, language, and hockey. Reachable on twitter @AlexSerenRosso
