Photo: NHLPA
Minnesota Wild left-wing Kirill Kaprizov got out of Russia last week via Turkey and landed in New York over the weekend, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. He is expected to fly to St. Paul on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old arrived in North America five weeks earlier than originally planned.
After reports came out that he bought a fake military identification card five years ago and had his exemption expire at the end of June, the Wild, his agent, and Russian attorneys worked hard to get Kaprizov to the United States before training camp is slated to open next month.
The allegations that Kaprizov bought a fake military identification card have mostly been shot down.
When Kaprizov was able to get out of Russia, the Wild urged him not to wait.
He was unable to enter the United States via Dubai, United Arab Emirates in July.
Kaprizov will resume his offseason training for the upcoming season in Minnesota.
Kaprizov tied for fifth in the NHL with 47 goals and held sole place of fifth with 108 points in 81 games last season.
By Harrison Brown
This is probably a good thing for not only the player but the team. Im thinking maybe more Russian players should do this as you never know what Putin will do next and many teams would be hurting and so would the NHL and TV revenue without many of the Russian players.
A good sign.