Sharks prospect Yegor Afanasyev has terminated his contract with the CSKA Moscow of the KHL, presumably with the intention of returning to North America, where the Sharks hold his rights. While there is no official deal at this time, it looks pretty likely that something will be done between the two sides in the near future.
Nashville drafted Afanasyev in the 2nd round back in 2019 out of the USHL. in his 3 seasons with the organization, he got into 19 games with the Predators, scoring just 1 goal, his only NHL point to date. He has found more success in the AHL; in his final season with the organization, he scored 54 points (27G, 27A) in 56 games for Milwaukee. The Predators dealt him to the Sharks for Ozzy Weisblatt last offseason. Rather than play for the Sharks, Afanasyev opted to go overseas and play in the KHL last season, where he put up 21 points in 54 games.
Afanasyev is a somewhat intriguing prospect for the Sharks; while he is likely not going to be a factor in the top 6 for the Sharks next season, the 6’3 winger brings a combination of size and skill that is always going to make him an intriguing project, if he can manage to add some scoring depth in the bottom six he could find a place as a full-time NHLer. It is not too dissimilar to what they tried with Klim Kostin last year, who is a similar style of player. In the worst case, Afanasyev is an accomplished scorer at the AHL level and would be a big add for Barracuda next season, assuming he clears waivers. The Sharks will have a lot of competition next season in the AHL, with numerous prospects poised to start their pro career, so it will be interesting to see how everything shakes out going into next season.