entry-level contract<\/a> negotiations in May, Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson was \u201cextremely impressed\u201d by Kantserov\u2019s ability to talk without a translator, which assured him Kantserov wouldn\u2019t need any \u201cspecial accommodations\u201d from a language perspective this season.<\/p>\nAnd Kantserov\u2019s English has only improved further since then, because he has been living in the United States \u2014 training with a group of Russians and Rangers in Stamford, Connecticut \u2014 since late June.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn one month, walking around New York and around Stamford, [when I] go to buy coffee or go to shop, of course I listen to how everyone is saying [things] in English,\u201d he said. \u201cI learn it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kantserov hopped over to Chicago for a couple days this week for the NHL Players Association\u2019s rookie showcase, which Hawks prospect Sacha Boisvert also attended. <\/p>\n
The brief stop in Chicago gave him an opportunity to tour Hawks facilities and meet some staff, including skills coach Kendall Coyne Schofield and strength coach Juan Gonzalez.<\/p>\n
Expectations are lofty for Kantserov after he led the KHL in goals last season, burying 36 in 63 games. Davidson hasn\u2019t been shy about penciling him into a first-line winger spot next to Connor Bedard, and Bedard being sidelined for the first month of the season won\u2019t change that.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, Connor has the injury. It\u2019s sad news,\u201d Kantserov said. \u201cBut Chicago signed Patrick Kane. The legend has come back. It\u2019s awesome. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the greatest American player, all-time scorer, and this is a very good opportunity to play with him. Of course, if we play together with Bedard, maybe we can find the chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kantserov hasn\u2019t yet talked to Kane, but he said he did text Bedard: \u201cFaster recovery. We need you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has spent the most time so far with Hawks goalie Spencer Knight, a Connecticut native. They haven\u2019t been on the same training schedule aside from one camp, but they have had dinners together.<\/p>\n
“[Spencer is] a good guy,\u201d Kantserov said. \u201cHe helps me with talking. He says, \u2018Chicago is a great city, great fans, great organization.\u2019 And I see this right now. It\u2019s absolutely awesome. I\u2019m excited, waiting for the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kantserov currently has the sixth-highest odds for the Calder Trophy, per FanDuel, while Hawks rookie forward Anton Frondell is tied for fourth. Flyers forward Porter Martone, Maple Leafs forward Gavin McKenna and Sharks forward Ivar Stenberg are the three favorites.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s no guarantee everything clicks right away for Kantserov. He has a strong, sturdy build, but at 5-9, he\u2019s undeniably short by NHL standards.<\/p>\n
And even though the KHL is still arguably the second-best league in the world, it has weakened over the past decade, so the NHL represents a large step up in competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to improve my skills, improve my thinking,\u201d Kantserov said. \u201cI need to think smarter and faster, because here is [an] absolutely different level. It should be hard, but it\u2019s not impossible. I think I can do this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a kid, Roman Kantserov remembers watching Transformers and Spider-Man movies with Russian subtitles. As he prepares for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":792024,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-792023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=792023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/792024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}