Quietly, the New Jersey Devils find themselves in danger of risking the development of their No. 1 defense prospect, Anton Silayev.
Silayev, 19, is playing under a new head coach for the first time as a member of Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, going from two seasons of Igor Larionov to a first-time KHL head coach in Alexei Isakov. The results haven't been so great thus far.
Though he was never going to be a high-flying points producer, Silayev has just one assist in 22 KHL games this season, but his ice time is beginning to sink rapidly now as well.
The 6-foot-7 gazelle-like defenseman has played no more than 9:23 in any of his last three games. But, that's not all, Silayev played just 5:34 in a 2-0 win over Lada Togliatti on Thursday night, and 7:28 in a 7-4 win against Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. Effectively, a total of few than 23 minutes across three games.
The Devils need their top prospect to play significantly more than he has if he is to develop, and that may have to happen in a different environment if this trend continues.
KHL players are able to buy themselves out of their contracts, so long as they front the full amount without any external assistance. While Silayev is out of contract this season anyway, it might be worthwhile to pull the plug on the KHL season after 22 games and get a head-start on life in the Devils organization with the Utica Comets.
The 19-year-old has been a regular in the KHL since the 2023-24 season, so, realistically, he should be able to afford to pay his way out of a bad situation with Torpedo. From there, the Devils can set Silayev up with a comparatively more lucrative entry-level contract and begin developing him under their own watch immediately.
Whatever the path forward may be, the Devils have to be feeling uncomfortable with the way things are starting to play out overseas.