San Jose Sharks fans do know the name of Yegor Rimashevsky as one of the interesting prospects getting down the team’s pipeline after a fourth-round selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Finally, the forward won a full-time spot for Dynamo Moscow, as he produced 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 45 regular-season games in 2023-24 for the Blue-and-Whites, more than solid numbers for a player of his age.
However, it wasn’t so easy. Due to injuries, Rimashevsky missed several months of the regular season two years in a row, but he still managed to maintain good numbers for his age: 13 points in 24 games during his debut season and 26 points in 29 games in the second year. Yegor began the 2023-24 campaign with the main team, producing 14 points in 45 regular-season games and adding three points in nine playoff contests. The forward turned 19 only in early February, and by that time, he was already a first-line player, skating alongside Nikita Gusev. In this translated interview, Rimashevsky talks summer work, his Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) debut season, and his plans for the 2024-25 campaign.
**You can read the original talk in Russian, written by Alexander Petrich, on the KHL’s official site here**
Summer Work
The KHL preseason is in full swing, but Rimashevsky had a chance to rest this summer. “At the end of April, I played in the Cup of the Future with the Russian national team, and my vacation started on May 1,” he explains. “I went to Egypt by the sea with some of my partners with Team Russia. After ten days, I returned and soon flew with my parents to Turkey for 12 days. There, I started preparing for the season and gradually getting back into shape. When I returned to Belarus, I went to my hometown of Zhlobin, where I fully resumed training.”
Despite the summer, Rimashevsky didn’t forget about his studies. However, differently from other players, who usually study to become a coach, he chose another path for his education. “I feel that my coaching abilities aren’t very well developed,” he explains. “After finishing my playing career, I want to become a team’s general manager.”
In recent years, KHL teams have frequently held their preseason training camps in Belarus. Rimashevsky is obviously satisfied with this choice. “There are excellent conditions, and in all cities,” he says. “For example, just outside Minsk, there’s the Raubichi sports complex, where many teams hold their training camps, not just hockey teams. Skiers, biathletes, and other athletes also train there. In Zhlobin, VHL team Dynamo St. Petersburg held their camps, and everything is set up here as well: the complex includes a water park, gym, ice rink, and pool.”
Rimashevsky had a busy 2023-24 season, playing for Dynamo Moscow in both the KHL and the junior league. After that, he also lined up with Team Russia at the Cup of the Future. “Without a doubt, there was some accumulated fatigue by the end of the season, but I was happy to come to the tournament,” he said. “It was a pleasure to play in Novosibirsk, and 10,000 fans showed up for the last match against Belarus.”
Switching From Belarus to Russia
Rimashevsky was born in Zhlobin, Belarus, but moved to Russia quite early. He first played within the CSKA system, then for Dynamo. “I didn’t feel any pressure in those games,” the Sharks prospect explains. “However, I had special emotions during the second game against Belarus—many of my friends, including those from Zhlobin, were playing. But even at that moment, I was only thinking about how we had to win, no matter what.”
Over three years in the MHL, Rimashevsky only played 78 games. He couldn’t even break the 30-game mark in either season. “I got injured during the training camp before my debut season,” Rimashevsky explains. “After two months of rehabilitation, I started playing regularly in the MHL around November, and after the playoffs, I even joined the junior team for the 2005 age group. The second season started well; I was scoring goals and making assists, but then I got injured again, which kept me out for three months. I only recovered towards the end of the regular season. In the 2023-24 season, I mainly played in the KHL, so I didn’t get to play many games in the juniors.”
For players, getting injured is never pleasant. “My first injury was related to the transition to junior hockey in an older age group. My body was adjusting and couldn’t handle it. In the second season, I injured a muscle during practice—I collided with the goalpost awkwardly. It was just a bruise, but the recovery took much longer than expected.”
Battling With Injuries
For Rimashevsky, it was difficult to miss half the season two years in a row because of this. “The first few days after an injury are always the hardest,” he says. “You realize you’ll be out for the next couple of months. Any rehabilitation is tough, not just for hockey players, but for any athlete.”
However, the forward’s size, who stands at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, helped him in his transition to junior hockey. “Without my size, it would have been much more challenging for me,” Rimashevsky admits. “In my first MHL season, just like in my debut KHL season, the pace was significantly different. At the pro level, many players are bigger than me, so I had to make up for it with my speed.”
In January, Rimashevsky netted one of his first KHL tallies against his former team, CSKA Moscow. “I do remember that goal,” the forward says. “In that moment, we were on a three-on-two. Ivan Muranov passed the puck to me on the right wing, and I realized I had enough time for a shot, so I took it and hit it well, on the far post. The first emotions were like a blur. Honestly, I didn’t expect the puck to go in.”
First-Line Play
As the season went by, Rimashevsky started stepping onto the ice on Dynamo’s first line with Gusev and Jordan Weal. “The first time I was placed with them was already during the training camp, where we practiced together for one cycle, which is about four days,” he recalls. “Even then, Nikita Gusev would come up to me and advise me to play the way I know how. If the coaching staff put me on the first line, it means they saw qualities in me that were needed for that group. When I was first listed in the official lineup for the first line, Gusev came up to me again and said, ‘Don’t worry. Just show what you’re valued for.’ And that’s how it turned out. I wasn’t nervous in that game or in the following ones. I was only happy to be playing.”
And playing with such masters definitely helps in a young player’s development, as Rimashevsky recognizes. “It even depends on which skilled players you train with. At Dynamo, you can learn something from everyone, not just from Gusev: defensive play, physical battles, passing, positioning on special teams. In training, you’re constantly picking up something new.”
Winning Games for Dynamo Moscow
In the playoffs, Rimashevsky netted the OT, game-winning goal in the third match of the series against Dinamo Minsk – that’s already an achievement on its own at such a young age. Moreover, the game was played in his native Belarus. “Honestly, I’ve long since forgotten about it,” he says with a smile. “My family, including my mom, came to that game, and it took place on March 8. Scoring that goal gave me a really nice feeling. I tried to block out the fact that the stands were packed. I knew it was the playoffs, and I had a game to play—I needed to go out there and win.”
Winning games is a feat that will certainly aid the young forward in his move to North America. Rimashevsky’s contract with Dynamo Moscow expires next May. This year will be a crucial season in his development, and if things go well and he continues to progress, the Sharks may have an exciting asset joining their system next summer.
