Two Calgary Wranglers players are on their way back to Russia, with Ivan Prosvetov and Artem Grushnikov both landing KHL opportunities.
Prosvetov has signed a one-year deal with Avangard Omsk, ending a brief return to North American pro hockey. His KHL rights were moved to Avangard to make the deal happen, while forward prospect Maxim Sklokin is headed back to the CSKA Moscow organization. Grushnikov is also joining the CSKA organization, according to Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey.
For Prosvetov, the move closes a season that never really got rolling in Calgary. He split starts with Arsenii Sergeev and finished with a 9-12-2 record and a .887 save percentage in 25 games. That came after a strong year in Russia with CSKA during the 2024-25 season, when he posted a 20-16-2 record and a .920 save percentage in a shutdown role.
The 2024-25 campaign was Prosvetov’s first look at the KHL level. Before that, he had built his path through Russian youth hockey, then moved to the United States in 2016 to begin his junior career.
He put up strong save percentages in the NAHL, USHL, and OHL, then started his pro run in the Arizona Coyotes’ organization in 2019. Early on, he was a steady presence, hovering around a .900 save percentage and sharing starts with the Tucson Roadrunners through 2023.
Colorado claimed Prosvetov off waivers from Arizona before the 2023-24 season, and that move produced the best stretch of his career. He finished with a .921 save percentage in 21 AHL games and a .895 save percentage in 11 NHL games. Even so, it wasn’t enough to earn him a permanent place in a crowded Avalanche depth chart.
Grushnikov’s path back to Russia has been longer and more winding. He came up through Russian youth hockey, spent one year in the MHL, then moved to the OHL and played two seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs. Dallas selected him in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft after his first full season in Hamilton.
He turned pro with the Texas Stars in 2023, but appeared in only 44 games before being part of a three-team trade in February 2024 that sent Chris Tanev to Dallas. From there, he moved into the Flames organization and played 136 games with the Wranglers, collecting eight points. With no clear path upward in Calgary, Grushnikov is now returning to the organization where his career started, hoping the KHL gives him a better foothold as a pro.
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