Photo: Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Washington Capitals defensive prospect Alex Alexeyev, on loan to Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL, scored his first career KHL point on Saturday.
Alexeyev’s first point came midway through the second period of Saturday’s tilt with Vityaz. Alex had the primary assist on a nice tic-tac-goal, which was finished by Dmitry Kugryshev, tying the game at 4-4.
Alexeyev entered the zone and found the open ice on the weak side, receiving a cross-ice feed and relaying a centering pass to Kugryshev for the even-strength score.
Video: KHL
Salavat Yulaev Ufa would ultimately win the game, 6-5.
Alexeyev has been playing on the 2nd pair for a majority of the month, but was dropped to the third pair against Vityaz on Saturday. (Salavat rolls four to five defensive pairs each game).
Alexeyev’s playing time has steadily increased as the month of September has progressed. Here are his KHL game-by-game stats to date:
Viktor Kozlov, acting head coach of HC Salavat Yulaev and former Washington Capitals forward, was asked about the play of his young players so far this season. “Everything is in the hands of the guys. They are young and now they have a chance to show themselves. If they continue in the same way, it will be good for us that we will have such competition. Now the main thing for them is to work, work and work again.”
Alexeyev, 20, was officially loaned to Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL on September 3rd, with his first regular season game occurring on September 15. He will return to North America when Capitals training camp opens for the 2020-21 season.
By Jon Sorensen
