The Bruins announced late last night that they have signed forward Pavel Shen to a three-year entry-level contract worth $2.775 million. It has a $925,000 annual average value but only carries an $809,167 cap hit. Shen bounced between the KHL, VHL, and MHL as a member of the Salavat Yulaev Ufa system last season and saw his ice time go all over the place as a result. So, his numbers are not overly impressive from those leagues, as he appeared in 38 games played between the teams, in which he recorded zero goals and four assists. He then appeared in 17 playoff games between the VHL and MHL, over which he produced one goal and three assists. But, Shen broke out at the World Junior Championships for Russia, as he was their leading goal scorer and played in seven games for the team, through which he produced three goals and one assist. In 18 total international games for Team Russia last year, he tallied six goals and five assists. Drafted in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by Bruins, this will be the 19-year-old center’s first season in North America after he managed to terminate his KHL contract so he could sign with the Bruins.
My reaction: Shen is a very interesting prospect that is looking like he may be a steal as a seventh round pick. He had a rough go of it last season with his normal teams, but given his performance on the international stage, I think most of that can be attributed to him constantly bouncing between three different leagues and seeing inconsistent ice time because of it. I’m excited to see what Shen can do given consistent ice time and on the North American sheet, as from what I hear his game will be well-suited to the North American style. He went from a long shot to a good prospect very quickly, and hopefully, he continues to be that way. He will in all likelihood start the season in Providence where he will be given ample ice time and a chance to further develop his game, but if he continues to play like he did at the WJC, we may see him on the NHL roster much sooner than initially expected. Who knows, if there’s a lot of forward injuries this season and he plays really well down in Providence, we may see him as an injury call up at some point. But, no offense to him, but I hope that’s not the case. I certainly don’t want to see another injury bug like there was last season. But, all that said, Shen is very intriguing and it’s always fun to see a long shot turn out to be a good prospect after all! Welcome officially to the Bruins organization, Pavel!
Hockey Addict 