The Pittsburgh Penguins are about a month away from officially opening training camp and offered their first PTO to former San Jose Sharks defender Nikolai Knyzhov.
The 26-year-old from Moscow has played 81 games over the past four seasons with the Sharks after joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
Although Knyzkov is not a lock to make the Penguins lineup, if he has a strong showing at camp, he could be offered a role in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Here are three things to know about the newest addition to the training camp roster.
Best Seasons Have Come in the AHL
Although Knyzkov was born in Russia, he played minor hockey in Phoenix and skated one season in the Western Hockey League with the Regina Pats.
Undrafted, he returned home to play in the MHL and KHL, skating with the teams in St. Petersburg. Eventually, Knyzkov caught the eyes of the Sharks, who brought him back to North America in 2019-20, splitting time between the NHL and AHL.
That’s been his story for the past four seasons, as he played 92 games (21 points) with the San Jose Barracuda in the minors and 81 games (12 points) with the Sharks in the NHL.
Injuries Have Derailed His NHL Career
As one of the top defensive prospects for the Sharks, Knyzkov’s career never really took off in the Bay Area. He’s missed significant time over the past four seasons with injuries.
In 2021-22, he missed the entire season with a groin injury. Upon returning to training before the 2022-23 season, Knyzkov tore his Achilles tendon, which required surgery and a six-month recovery period.
He eventually made his season debut on March 6, 2023, scoring only one goal in 13 games.
Knyzkov Has Never Scored a Point Against a Canadian-born netminder
In 81 NHL games, Knyzkov has scored three goals and nine assists for 12 points. When searching his scoring logs, he has yet to register a single point against a Canadian-born netminder. Here’s a breakdown of his points.
Knyzkov scored a point on two Stanley Cup-winning goalies, Quick and Grubauer. Meanwhile, the Sharks were 6-5-1 in contests where he registered a point. He’ll most likely miss playing the Los Angeles Kings regularly since he has five points in eight games against the club.
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