After his first practice in Nashville since being recalled from the Milwaukee Admirals forward Denis Guiranov bumped into general manager Barry Trotz in the locker room doorway.
Trotz told Gurianov “good start” after seeing him play against the Dallas Stars in his regular-season debut with the Predators.
Gurianov has been tearing up the American Hockey League with the Admirals posting a team-high 30 points in 27 games played. Now he’s been given his first opportunity to play in the NHL since clearing waivers at the end of training camp.
Before he’s even made his home regular season debut with the Predators he went back to the place where his NHL career all started.
“It was nice to play the first game of the season against Dallas I was excited for that,” Gurianov said. “Of course a huge thank you to Dallas for picking me in the [2015] draft… A huge thank you to Dallas and to all the boys and coaches I played with. They helped me on and off the ice as well. That was special to play against them. A thanks to the fans as well.”
As Gurianov was reflecting he also reminisced about playing in the NHL’s bubble playoff where he scored 17 points in 27 games as the Stars made it to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020. Gurianov was sixth on the team in scoring and one of 10 skaters to appear in each playoff game.
Since then Gurianov has been traded to the Montreal Canadiens and then signed a one-year deal with the Predators worth $850,00 last summer.
He’s seen firsthand how the business side of the NHL works and along the way, he’s appreciated each pit stop in his journey.
“It’s hockey things will happen and I got traded, it’s okay,” Gurianov said. “I had a great group in Montreal and coaching staff. They gave me a warm welcome there. It’s part of hockey and it’s part of life. You can’t control it but it’s cool to make some new friends and live in a different town.”
As he’s played with blossoming talent in Milwaukee he’s been around more Russian countrymen outside of being their teammate.
Gurianov has Fedor Svechkov, Egor Afanasyev, and Yaroslav Aksarov alongside him now that he’s in a new organization helping younger players get the experience required to make the NHL.
“It’s been good. It’s nice to try and help them on the ice,” Gurianov said. “When I played and was on the ice as a rookie some guys helped me too. It’s always nice to see how people go in the right direction as a player. It’s special when a player like Svechkov from your hometown [of Togliatti, Russia] is here too, that’s always cool as well.”
Gurianov was skating on a line with forwards Colton Sissons and Jusso Pärssinen at practice on Monday. He’s set to make his home debut on Tuesday as the Anaheim Ducks come to town.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photo courtesy of Steven Ellis from Daily Faceoff
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