ARLINGTON, Va. --Ivan Miroshnichenko will head into his first NHL training camp in September determined to earn a spot on the Washington Capitals' opening night roster.
"Of course, my goal is to make the NHL team," the 19-year-old native of Ussuriysk, Russia, said through an interpreter at Capitals development camp this month. "Obviously, there are a lot of great players, a lot of veteran players on the team, so it will be difficult. But that's my goal. That's what I'm aiming for."
The forward prospect, selected by Washington with the No. 20 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, knows the odds will be against him and he'll probably need some seasoning with Hershey of the American Hockey League. But the forward prospect has overcome so much in the past year and a half, why not aim high?
Miroshnichenko was projected to be a top-five pick in the draft before being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in February 2022. Capitals assistant general manager Ross Mahoney remembers meeting Miroshnichenko at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Germany in April 2022, when he was during his second round of chemotherapy, and he'd lost his hair and enough weight that his clothes hung loosely from his depleted frame.
It was in stark contrast to the healthy, strong. 6-foot-1, 185-pound player who stood out at development camp a few weeks ago with his skating, quick release and accurate shot.
"Being in Germany a year ago from May and doing his cancer treatments, and to see where he is and to perform like he did [at development camp] was really good," Mahoney said. "… So I'm really happy for him just to see where he's hockey-wise and also just physically in his health."
After completing three months of treatments last June, Miroshnichenko said he gained back the weight he lost and more.
"I feel great both mentally and physically," he said. "When I got [to development camp], I got tested. Doctors performed a lot of tests on me, just to make sure that I'm healthy, and I'm fully healthy, cancer-free and I feel great."
Miroshnichenko returned to competitive hockey last season with Omsk Yastreby in Russia's junior league Nov. 6 and had 14 points (10 goals, four assists) in 12 games before being promoted to Omsk Krylia in Russia's second division. He had three assists in four games there before making the jump to Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, with four points (three goals, one assist) in 23 games.
Miroshnichenko and Omsk mutually agreed to terminate his contract, which had one season remaining, to allow him to sign a three-year entry-level contract with the Capitals on May 1.
"It's been my dream to play in the NHL, so I'm just pursuing my dream," he said. "That's the next step for me."
Miroshnichenko understands he'll need time to adapt to playing and living in North America. He is working with a tutor to learn English and because he played on an NHL-size rink in Omsk, he said he believes that will help his transition on the ice, whether he's in Hershey or Washington.
"I already have a lot of experience playing in the smaller rinks, so I think that won't be as big of an adjustment for me," he said. "The biggest thing for me would be just learning English, being able to communicate with my teammates, coaches. So, I think that would be the biggest challenge to start."
