When the Colorado Avalanche drafted Andrei Mironov with the 101st overall pick in 2015, many close followers of the team didn’t quite know what to make of the pick. The then-21-year-old defenseman had just wrapped up his third season in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League and wasn’t necessarily seen as a player with North American hockey aspirations. The selection was a bit out-of-left-field in an amateur draft generally comprised of 18-year-old players from U.S. and Canadian junior programs.
This past summer, rumors began to circulate about Mironov weighing the option of signing with the Avalanche, but that speculation quickly subsided after it was announced he signed a two-year deal to remain with his longtime Moscow’s Dynamo franchise. But those whispers got louder again oday when it was discovered NHL-certified agent Dan Milstein had announced via Twitter that he had signed on to represent Mironov. Milstein, a Ukranian native, has represented some high-profile Russian clients, including former NHL star Pavel Datsyuk.
Meet our client, Colorado Avalanche prospect and current Dynamo Moscow (KHL) defenseman Andrei Mironov pic.twitter.com/PSsKMe8j5j
— Dan Milstein-Hockey (@DMilsteinHockey) February 4, 2017
Our friends at Eurolanche inform us this relationship isn’t exactly brand-new and this announcement—as well as this interview they conducted with Mironov earlier in the month—could be the player and his management publicly stating their intentions defer the remaining year on his contract and come stateside over the summer.
Is this a good thing? Absolutely!
Of all the defensemen in the Avalanche system, Mironov is perhaps the most defensively gifted, making the KHL All-Star team 2015, as well as the silver-medal Russian World Cup team. He isn’t much of an offensive producer, scoring just 40 points in 196 KHL games over parts of four seasons, but he’s still very young, big (6’2” 200lbs), a left-handed shot and known as a stalwart in his own end. Sound like something the Avalanche could use? Yes—yes, it does.
Mironov has played just 18 games for his club this season after getting slashed on the hand playing for Team Russia during the Karjala Cup in November.