Metallurg Magnitogorsk said on social media that it has terminated 21-year-old Roman Kantserov’s contract after the forward decided “to continue his career in the NHL Chicago Blackhawks system,” and the report says Kantserov is expected to sign with Chicago and play in the NHL next season.
The move arrives after the Blackhawks fell to the No. 4 spot in the draft lottery. The report says Chicago had the second-best odds to land the top pick and a chance to select Penn State winger Gavin McKenna to play alongside Connor Bedard, but Toronto jumped to first and Chicago dropped to fourth, making McKenna and Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg likely unavailable.
Per the report, Kantserov led the KHL with 36 goals this season and became the first 21-year-old to top the league in goals since Kirill Kaprizov in 2018-19. The report also notes he finished with 64 points in 63 games, ranking ninth in points, and posted a 1.02 points-per-game average, good for 10th in the league.
Kantserov was a second-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2023 and has spent the last three years as a full-time KHL player with Magnitogorsk, the report says. His early career included a combined 21 goals through his first 100 regular-season games and a playoff showing with four goals and 13 points in 23 games.
The report frames Kantserov’s arrival as a consolation for Chicago after the lottery drop and says his development adds to a farm system considered among the best in the NHL. The organization will also have the No. 4 pick this year as it continues a rebuild that has amassed 12 first-round picks since 2022 and focuses on a homegrown core led by Bedard, Anton Frondell, Arytom Levshunov, Oliver Moore and Frank Nazar, per the report.
The report adds that the KHL has a recent history of teams terminating contracts for prospects drafted by NHL clubs, citing SKA St. Petersburg’s similar move last April with Ivan Demidov before he signed with the Montreal Canadiens.
