Flames loan Dmitry Zavgorodniy to SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL

One of the Calgary Flames’ top prospects is headed to the Kontinental Hockey League. The club has officially announced that they’ve assigned winger Dmitry Zavgorodniy to SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.

Zavgorodniy, 20, was the Flames’ seventh round selection back at the 2018 NHL Draft. The Russian import has been superb over three seasons with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic, putting up 83 goals and 178 points over three seasons. He was eligible to return to the Q this season as an overage player, but given that he would’ve also counted as an import player for Rimouski and that there’s basically nothing left to accomplish at the junior level, the decision was made by the Flames to turn him pro.

Now, Zavgorodniy will wait out the NHL’s pandemic planning for the 2020-21 re-start in his homeland. Zavgorodniy’s from Omsk, but he’ll play for St. Petersburg, who have also added Jets goalie Mikhail Berdin and Predators forward Yakov Trenin in recent weeks. Top 2020 NHL Draft goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov also plays for SKA.

He joins fellow Flames prospects Martin Pospisil (HS Kosice, Slovakia), Eetu Tuulola (Vastervik IK, Sweden) and Johannes Kinnval (HV71, Sweden) on loans. Forward Adam Ruzicka was practicing with Slovakian team HC Slovan Bratislava, but as of yet no formal loan agreement has been made.