Blackhawks prospect Roman Kantserov seeking to be consistently dominant

New York Times

10 hours ago

Roman Kantserov's game reached new heights in the KHL last season.
Physically, he felt good. He was six months past his shoulder surgery. Mentally, he was confident. He had played in his first full KHL season the year before and played some of his best hockey during Metallurg's playoff run during the 2023-24 season. Young KHL players often have to claw for ice time, but Kantserov had proved himself and was getting as much as 21 minutes in some games. The trust was there in his second season.
Advertisement
Come mid-November, it all began clicking for the 20-year-old Kantserov. Between then and mid-January, he produced 11 goals, including his first KHL hat trick, and nine assists in 17 games.
'I began playing smarter, stronger,' Kantserov said in a recent interview with The Athletic during which he spoke English and Russian through interpreter Vika Bulakhava. 'I felt how I stayed stronger from the last year from my first year. It was very good. Three months, I played like my best, my prime form.'
Kantserov was arguably the hottest player in the KHL. Ivan Demidov, the Montreal Canadiens' 2024 first-round pick, was receiving a lot of the hype, but it was Kantserov, a Blackhawks' 2023 second-round pick, who was producing the most consistently among the league's youngest players.
Roman Kantserov scores his 10th goal in 10 games. https://t.co/thqj8AEb0A
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 11, 2025
But then Kantserov's game fell off. He still produced enough throughout the rest of the season to finish second in the league among under-22 players with a 0.81 points per game average (Detroit Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov led at 0.83), but it wasn't nearly at the same pace. He finished the season with 13 goals and 25 assists in 47 games.
As a KHL rookie, Kantserov's game got better with time. He was dominant in the playoffs that season. He was one of the main reasons why Metallurg won the Gagarin Cup in 2024. This past season, his game was descending once the playoffs arrived. He produced zero goals and two assists in six playoff games. Metallurg's hopes of repeating as champions ended in the first round.
'The last two months and the playoff was very terrible for me,' Kantserov said. 'I think I was just tired in this season in my last games. I think that I just didn't have enough preseason preparation for the season because of the (shoulder surgery). In the end, I felt I was already full.'
Advertisement
It's all why Kantserov was excited to get to work early this offseason. He got a taste of what he can really do in the KHL this past season. With the ability to train without the restraints put on him last offseason after his shoulder surgery, he's hopeful he can sustain that level.
'I think it's just all a work in progress,' Kantserov said. 'I just need more effort and time to stay consistent, so I can produce not just at the peak of the season but throughout the whole season.'
Kantserov's goals next season are primarily about Metallurg as a team, but he has some personal ones, too.
'When I talk personally about myself, I was the top forward on the team (in points last season), and I'm hoping to, if not repeat, then exceed the results that I had this season,' he said. 'And that's really a goal of mine, just to prove that I'm the leader and I'm the person who the team could trust on that level. I'm just in my early twenties and I'm playing on that level and I want to continue to be the leader that I can be and take the game on myself.'
The Blackhawks have to like the sound of that. Could Kantserov, who is entering the final year of his KHL contract, jump into the Blackhawks' lineup by the end of next season and have a similar impact as Demidov did for the Canadiens? Kantserov isn't getting ahead of himself.
'I cannot say that I am best friends with Ivan Demidov, but we are obviously good buddies, and when he had his first goal in NHL, I congratulated him with that,' Kantserov said. 'But each of us have our own road and I have my own, so there is no point of looking at someone else. I still have a year contract with my current team. I was drafted by the Blackhawks and we keep in touch, so I know what their expectations are from me. and what the team is looking forward to when I will be on the team. So, I don't think I need to rush and look at someone else. I have my own story to write here and that's the most important part.'
The Blackhawks do keep in consistent communication with Kantserov. He went through video with Blackhawks player development coach Kendall Coyne Schofield after every 15 games last season. He also made the trip from Russia to last year's development camp in Chicago. He was excused from this year's camp because Metallurg was starting training camp soon and due to the length of travel required from Russia.
Advertisement
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said in June that he hopes to talk with Kantserov over the next year about Kantserov's future. All indications remain that Kanterov will sign an NHL contract after next season.
'He's had a great last couple of years, especially winning in the playoffs, coming into last season, having a great season,' Davidson said. 'He'll have another good development opportunity this year playing in a great league. It's kind of a conversation where we'll have that over the next calendar year and see where he's at and what his aspirations and desires are. But we're very optimistic about his future and his future with us.'
Kantserov has plans for on and off the ice this coming season. For one, he wants to continue to improve his English. He's spent a lot of time watching movies in English on Netflix and watching hockey highlights on YouTube and feels like he can hear it well now. It's a matter of feeling like he can communicate just as well.
As for on the ice, it's about taking that next step in his game. He doesn't care so much about the hype. It's about the results.
'For me, it doesn't matter,' Kantserov said. 'When you're young and you're drafted in the first round, top 10, of course, every manager believes in you, but it's not my job. I need every time to improve myself, improve my game. And for me, overrated, underrated, it doesn't matter. I need to just be playing my game.'
If he can maintain the height of his play last season, his game should be just fine.