The New Jersey Devils took a chance on a prospect who had first-round talent but some other issues. It seems like the only way to save Nikita Popugaev is to focus on him in North America.
The New Jersey Devils seemed like they hit a major win during the 2017 NHL Draft. Obviously, Nico Hischier was a huge win at the top of the draft, and Jesper Boqvist seems like an amazing prospect to get in the second round. Still, the steal of the NHL Draft looked like it could be Nikita Popugaev in the fourth round.
There were analysts who thought the Russian forward might have gone in the first round, yet here he was sitting there for Ray Shero in the fourth round. Shero looks like he might have hit a home run on his picks in 2017, with Hischier, Boqvist, Reilly Walsh, Fabian Zetterlund, Aarne Talvitie and Marian Studenic looking like potential future members of the big league club. Missing on one player shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
However, the Devils could make one last move on Popugaev to try and fix him. Things have gone about as bad as possible for a kid with this much skill. He left the Prince George WHL team last year to go back to Europe after he was relegated to the fourth line. Then, he went and signed with the KHL.
Since then, he’s had trouble staying in the big leagues, and spends more time than normal in the MHL. This season, he was given a real shot to stick with the Amur Khabarovsk, his KHL team, but he has one goal and no assists in 34 games. That’s next level bad. Obviously, most of us aren’t watching the games in Russia to see what Popugaev looks like in said games, but the Devils drafted him based on his time in Moose Jaw. He scored 38 goals in a season and a half, and had 51 points in 40 games in his second season.
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It’s time to take Popugaev out of Russia, and take complete control of his development. He needs to come to New Jersey, sign a contract, and play in the Devils direct affiliates.
Obviously, Popugaev would have to agree to that, but that seems like something he might do. Things are not working out in Russia, and he’s running out of time to make this work. He’s just 20 years old, but he’s now dealing with his second-straight lost season.
If the Devils can sign him to play here, they can test him out between the ECHL and AHL. Based on what we’ve seen so far, we should expect him to play with the Adirondack Thunder, but it’s possible that just the prospect of coming back to America with a new lease on his hockey life could help him realize what he’s been doing wrong.
Plus, he has Egor Yakovlev in Binghamton right now. He’s someone who was very successful in the KHL, and his presence could help both players shine.
One caveat here, I am not sure if he can get out of his KHL contract. He’s on the last year of his deal, after signing for two years in 2017. Maybe they’d all be willing to cut bait since it clearly isn’t working.
Some fans might want to just give up on Popugaev and focus on the kids who are working out. However, this player has one thing that most Devils prospects do not have. He’s huge. Seriously, this kid is 6’6, 215 pounds and has a great shot and speed. Well, at least that what he had two years ago.
Something happened to this player when he was traded from Moose Jaw to Prince Georges. He’s never been the same since that happened. Who knows what caused his career to swirl down the drain, but this last ditch effort could save him. He could be a great big-bodied forward who nets 15 goals from the third line if the Devils can fix him. The best chance the Devils have to fix him is to bring him closer to the franchise that owns his rights.