Should the Leafs be concerned with the handling of Rodion Amirov's development in the KHL?
When the Toronto Maple Leafs traded winger Kasperi Kapanen back to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2020, a large contingent of Leafs Nation rejoiced, as Leafs GM Kyle Dubas had successfully found a way to move back into the first round of the draft, by securing the 15th-overall pick in the deal.
The Leafs had been without their own 2020 1st-round pick after being forced to move it to the Carolina Hurricanes as incentive for the Canes to take on the contract of winger Patrick Marleau, whose contract value had certainly exceeded his actual on-ice value.
While the Hurricanes walked away with what appears to be a solid prospect in Seth Jarvis with the Leafs' 13th-overall pick in the 2020 draft, the Leafs used Pittsburgh's 2020 1st-rounder on Russian winger Rodion Amirov just two spots later with the 15th pick.
Leafs Nation appeared to be somewhat split on whether the pick was a good one, with QMJHL product Dawson Mercer and defensemen Kaiden Guhle and Braden Schneider, both WHL standouts, all still on the board. Nevertheless, Amirov was one of the top-ranked European skaters available, and while the pick has yet to bear fruit for the Leafs, the sky seems to be the limit for Amirov, who displays a ton of skill and some excellent decision-making. There is a problem, however.
Amirov was expected to play a much larger role for his KHL team this season, after Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and the Leafs' development team agreed that playing his 20-year-old season with Ufa Salavat Yulaev with increased responsibilities could bode well for his development. However, injury has derailed those plans, and Amirov went from being projected to play a key role with his KHL club to being used only sparingly.
Amirov has played in just 4 games for Ufa this season, registering 2 assists on the year and often seeing less than 5 minutes of ice time per game. However, both Ufa head coach Tomi Lamsa and assistant coach Viktor Kozlov have stated that things should get better for Amirov in the ice time department once his fitness level increases, following his return from injury.
"We slowly tried to bring him back into the lineup. He has not played, basically, since his third game of the season, so we're trying to do what's the best for the team," Kozlov told The Athletic earlier this month.
"It's all about getting in shape. If he's going to be OK, he's going to play."
Amirov appears to be slotting in on the third line on Monday, with multiple regulars out of the lineup for Ufa, so his role should begin to increase as soon as today.
The question on everyone's minds seems to be; what sort of impact will this season have on Amirov's overall development? The obvious follow-up to this would be; are the Leafs better off bringing the 20-year-old to Toronto as soon as possible?
Having Amirov in Toronto and under the direct supervision of the team's medical staff would certainly ensure that he's getting top notch medical treatment. He would also have access to the club's development team, who could certainly work with him closely to help ease Amirov's transition to North American hockey. The team would also be able to work directly with Marlies coach Greg Moore to ensure adequate ice time is provided.
Amirov was in Toronto this summer, working with the development team at Ford Performance Centre, where they assessed his skating, worked on his body mechanics for shooting the puck and provided some feedback on what the assignment was in terms of things he would need to work on back in the KHL.
My question is, if he's not being given the opportunity to develop properly in the KHL, does it not make sense for Dubas and company to work on bringing Amirov back to North America to continue his development in an environment that the team has control of as soon as possible?
These questions need answers, and soon, because Amirov was not drafted to be another Yegor Korshkov. He was drafted with the intent of becoming an impact player for the Leafs within the top six.
