Yegor Korshkov was one of the best players for the Russians at the recent WJC, scoring eight points in seven games (leading his team tied with Ivan Provorov), other than scoring a great GWG against Team USA in the semifinals. It’s therefore not surprising that the same Korshkov declared that NHL teams approached him during the tournament. “At the recent WJC in Finland several NHL scouts were interested in me and my plans,” Korshkov told yarsport.ru.
“I’m not going to say what teams expressed their interest towards me. All I can say is that I’m not drafted by any NHL teams.” With that being said, NHL teams will need to be patient with Korshkov. “In any case I’m gonna spend the next couple of years in Russia. I’m still under contract here in Yaroslavl with Lokomotiv.” According to his page on khl.ru, Korshkov is under contract in the KHL until 30.04.2018.
Even if the WJC finals were played some ten days ago, Korshkov seems to have moved on: “We need to get to the right conclusions and forget about that game. Now my task is to keep on working to show I deserve a spot in the Lokomotiv lineup in sight of the playoffs.”
At this point NHL teams will have two chances: either draft him next June or wait for a free agency move in a couple of years, similarly to what the Hawks did with Artemi Panarin. In either case, Korshkov will certainly earn from a couple of seasons in Russia, to further cement his status as one of the best under-20 players in the KHL.