Samsonov Adapting to the AHL With Hershey Bears
*Edited by: @AlyssaHertel
HERSHEY - Ilya Samsonov was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft with the 22nd overall pick. Since that time, fans in both Hershey and Washington have waited somewhat patiently for the 21-year-old netminder to make his way to North America - knowing he was under contract with the KHL’s Magnitogorsk Metallurg until 2018.
Fans kept up with the 6’4” 205-pound leftie’s exploits in the KHL, where his goals-against average was just over two with a save percentage in the low 90s in one of the premier leagues of hockey. While many would have liked to see the Russian on American soil earlier, the time in the KHL has allowed him to hone his game before making the jump.
Veteran forward Liam O’Brien summed it up best, “I think he’s just got tons of confidence. He’s played in the KHL, so he’s played in one of the best leagues in the world, so being here, he’s comfortable. He’s not out of his comfort zone; he’s faced shots of this caliber already. I think he’s just confident and comfortable already.”
Samsonov made his North American debut on October 6, 2018, in Hershey’s season-opening 3-2 loss to the Syracuse Crunch at Giant Center, but nobody is laying the loss at Samsonov’s feet.
New Hershey head coach Spencer Carberry said, “I thought he was really good - he made a couple of big saves...we were under siege there for a little bit in the defensive zone and sometimes for a goaltender (it’s) not necessarily all shots but when you have to be in the zone there for 40 seconds, 50 seconds, a minute and then it comes back for a minute, he’s got to be on point and sharp. I thought he was really good for his first game in North America.”
Really good may be a bit of an understatement. Samsonov’s glove hand is wicked.
Saturday night he snagged pucks out of the air with precision and speed. And in one short week, he has learned to adjust to his new team. In his preseason start against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Giant Center, the young netminder often left the crease to try and help the defense clear the puck, which resulted in a goal for the Penguins. In Saturday night’s season opener, he stayed home and allowed the Hershey skaters to battle for the puck, eliminating the chance for a quick, open-net goal. Additionally, staying home eliminates the need for additional communication with his English-speaking teammates, allowing him to perhaps focus in on stopping pucks.
“He’s a rock back there - nothing phases him. I don’t know if that’s the language barrier or what, but he’s so calm, so cool - you ask him how he’s doing and he’s like ‘Good.’ He doesn’t care about much so I think that’s kind of what you want out of a goalie,” said third-year defenseman Colby Williams.
According to Associate Goaltender Coach Alex Westlund who admittedly knows some Russian from his playing days overseas, Samsonov’s English is improving, which perhaps could be attributed some to the movies with subtitles Samsonov said, through a translator postgame, that he’s been watching. While he is able to communicate some in English, he is obviously much more comfortable with two of his Russian-speaking teammates, Russian winger Sergei Shumakov and Latvian defenseman Kris Bindulis. Bindulis served as Samsonov’s translator following Saturday’s game.
Through Bindulis’s translation, Samsonov said, “First ten minutes he was a little bit nervous but when the game went on he felt much better...the number one thing that he learned today was to prepare himself for the game because here it’s a little bit faster - the ice is a bit smaller so everything else was just to communicate to the partners to understand a little bit each other and that’s pretty much it.”
While not willing to compare the KHL and the AHL in any other respects, Samsonov, through Bindulis, did say that he’s appreciative of the Washington and Hershey organizations, particularly for the support of the Russian players in Washington who have helped him with things like getting a car and setting up a phone. Additionally, he mentioned how welcoming the people are in Hershey, particularly with the red carpet arrival.
English-speaking or not, Samsonov’s play is endearing himself to the Hershey fans and earning the respect of his teammates already, due in large part to the fact that he’s very competitive. If his teammates didn’t already know that, they found out Sunday when it took them several attempts in pregame to get the puck past him with time running down in warmups.
Williams added, “He’s a big guy and kind of athletic and I think once he gets the speed of things and figures out how to play a North American game, I think he’ll be just fine.”
Perhaps Samsonov will be better than fine.
