The scoop per Yahoo! Canada contributor Andrey Osadchenko:
Rookie dman Viktor Antipin is reported to be in talks with the #Sens. KHL All-Star played with Sergei Gonchar during lockout. #NHL #KHL
— Andrey Osadchenko (@AOsadchenko) January 22, 2013
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Those familair with Andrey know his work is legit, no reason to doubt this.
The Senators don't have any permanent Russian scouting presence, so this would appear a tip off from a recently returned Sergei Gonchar. Further to that initial point, in Murray's tenure as GM zero players have been selected out of Russia, a span that includes passing on some supreme talent in the first-round…*cough* Tarasenko *cough*. Hell, in 41 selections the Murrary regime has never even taken a player out of a European league that wasn't based in Sweden.
All that said, I think it's positive to see the organization widening their scope a little, I can understand not wanting to get burned in the draft (Ottawa does have some unfortunate history with Russians taken outside the top-30), so signing a free agent instead seems a smart low-risk move.
So what do we know about Viktor Antipin?
1. Born December 6, 1992 in Oskeman, Kazakhstan.
2. Went undrafted in 2011 and 2012, but played on the Russian WJC team last year in Alberta
3. He's small. Listed at 5'10 and variously between 152-165lbs.
4. He shoots left.
5. He's currently 10th in scoring among KHL defenceman with 10G, 20PTS in 40GP, which on the surface seems impressive at 20.
6. His first KHL goal (and only Youtube highlight!) has him parked right in front of the net on the powerplay, like many a miniscule d-man.
Pronman's take:
High-end offensive skills. Small, and questionable defense for small ice. RT @sensfan_4_life: @coreypronman Thoughts on Viktor Antipin?
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) January 22, 2013
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And Stefan provides this note:
Re: #Sens reported interest in D-man Antipin. He's a star defenceman for his KHL team, can't sign until next season unless club allows him.
— Stefan G:son (@steffeG) January 22, 2013
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If anyone out there has a decent scouting report on this kid please don't hesitate to drop by in the comments.
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