http://www.hockeyvips.com/2015/03/nikita-soshnikov-nhl-is-my-dream/
Atlant president and former NHL star Valeri Kamensky said Soshnikov could make the Leafs? lineup next season but it will take dedication.
?I think he could improve in strength if he played one more year in Russia,? Kamensky said. ?[With another year of seasoning] he would become a ready master and could leave [Russia] as a leader. [With the Maple Leafs] he now has a two-way contract and will most likely be playing with the farm club, [where] they will make a player of him.
Of course, I hope Nikita will get to the big club [but] I don?t think it?s realistic in [his] first season. During summer it?s possible to grow, to build muscles, to go through a special program ? nothing is impossible ? everything is up to him. I wish Soshnikov luck and success.?
Kamensky thinks he'll probably need a year in the AHL
The 21-year-old Russian forward, who was never drafted by an NHL club, said the Maple Leafs came calling about a month ago and after consultation with his family and friends he decided to make the move.
?Everyone was for it,? he told championat.com. ?Because I?m a young guy and the NHL is my dream.?
Soshnikov said he knows he will have to earn his place on the Leafs? roster, noting he is not afraid to be sent to the American Hockey League.
?Will it be more difficult in the NHL? [Perhaps] but I?ll be growing faster as a player. I?ll be making faster progress,? he said. ?I signed a two-way contract. I know I?m not guaranteed a place in the starting lineup. It is clear that [I can be] sent to the AHL.?
...
?Money is not the main thing for me now,? he said. ?I?m young ? everything is ahead of me! My dream is to play in the NHL where the best players are.?
Soshnikov has been playing professionally for some time, but has that experience prepared him for the famously passionate Leafs fans and the hypercritical Toronto media?
?I was told what the fans were like there ? how ice hockey was popular in Canada,? he said. ?I?m very happy that I made this decision. I?m not sorry about anything ? I?m scared of nothing.?
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So when can Maple Leafs fans expect to get their first glimpse of Soshnikov? He is not sure when he will travel to North America but he said he hopes to suit up for Russia at the 2015 World Championships in the Czech Republic in May.
Seems to have a decent attitude and expectation about it
A key risk with drafting Russians has been the concern about whether they'd come over to play. Obviously, that isn't a concern here.
