Avalanche sign Andrei Mironov to entry-level deal

-аллилуйя!!!

After more than a year of rumors, BSN’s Adrian Dater reports the Colorado Avalanche finally convinced its 2015 fifth round draft pick, Andrei Mironov, to pack his skates and bring his talents stateside.

The six-foot-two, 195-pound Russia native is 22-years-old and a left-hand-shooting defenseman. He played his previous five seasons for the KHL’s Dynamo Moscow club, where he was an all-star and earned a reputation as a stout blue line presence as well as a fierce open-ice hitter. Mironov also played 20 games the past three seasons for Russian national teams, 14 between the 2013 and 2014 World Junior Championships (with Avalanche teammates Nikita Zadorov and Mikhail Grigorenko) and eight more during 2015’s World Championships.

Mironov joins a Colorado blue line in desperate need of depth and a young infusion of talent. He should be expected to compete right away for a spot in the Avalanche’s Top-6, though it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to see a short stint in San Antonio to acclimate to the smaller North American ice.

Most of the news leading up to Mironov’s signing was coming from across the pond, with both Dynamo’s GM and the player’s agent issuing multiple messages via Twitter indicating their player’s intentions.

News was imminent when Mironov’s agent tweeted the following this morning: