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Last week, the New York Islanders announced the signing of KHL forward Maxim Tsyplakov.

After spending his entire career in Russia to this point, the forward likely has a shot to crack the Islanders’ lineup right out of training camp this Fall, given the team’s need for scoring. But based on his KHL production to this point, how much of a boost can we expect Tsyplakov to provide?



Below, we compare the forward’s KHL numbers to other Russian forwards who made the jump to the NHL around the same age. Listed are the players' goals and points per game averages in their final KHL season before coming to the NHL, along with that production applied to an 82-game pace.

FINAL KHL SEASON:
- Nikita Gusev (26 years old): 0.27 GPG, 1.32 GPG (82-GAME PACE: 22G, 108P)
- Andrei Kuzmenko (25 years old): 0.44 GPG, 1.19 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 36G, 97P)
- Artemi Panarin (23 years old): 0.48 GPG, 1.15 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 39G, 94P)
- Ilya Mikheyev (24 years old): 0.37 GPG, 0.73 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 30G, 60P)
- Maxim Tsyplakov (25 years old): 0.48 GPG, 0.72 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 39G, 59P)
- Alexander Barabanov (25 years old): 0.26 GPG, 0.57 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 21G, 38P)

Tsyplakov saw a big jump in production this season, scoring 31 goals and 47 points in 65 games. While the goal total is what stands out, even the points pace was very comparable to Vancouver Canucks forward Ilya Mikheyev in his final KHL season.

That said, Tsyplakov’s production wasn’t quite as strong over his prior years. Below is a look at each of the players’ production over their final three KHL seasons.

LAST 3 KHL SEASONS:
- Gusev (173GP): 0.36 GPG, 1.24 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 30G, 102P)
- Kuzmenko (151GP): 0.34 GPG, 0.81 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 28G, 67P)
- Panarin (148GP): 0.39 GPG, 0.81 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 32G, 66P)
- Barabanov (147GP): 0.26 GPG, 0.60 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 21G, 49P)
- Mikheyev (172GP): 0.31 GPG, 0.58 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 26G, 47P)
- Tsyplakov (166GP): 0.27 GPG, 0.51 PPG (82-GAME PACE: 22G, 41P)

Essentially, Tsyplakov may not end up as a star, but his production puts him at similar ranges of the likes of Mikheyev and Barabanov. Mikheyev is typically ranging around a pace of 40 points per 82 in the NHL, while Barbanov is coming off a down year, but had scored at a much better pace in the two prior seasons.

The winger, standing at 6-foot-3, is also able to bring more physicality to the lineup. He had 145 hits across his 65 games this season, which ranked sixth in the entire KHL.

Regardless, while we won’t know how Tsyplakov’s game translates to the NHL, there’s reason to believe could be an effective middle-six winger for the Islanders. Especially with the lack of left-side scoring within the Islanders’ forward group, Tsyplakov could get a great opportunity playing up the lineup.




OTHER OFFSEASON ARTICLES


- Season Recap: Islanders in a state of stagnation
- Lack of cap space could result in another quiet offseason for Islanders

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