Daniil Miromanov: A Project With Future Upside?
Cup contending teams up against the cap have to find those diamonds in the rough to provide value beyond the stars on the roster. The Golden Knights arguably have the best blue line when healthy in the entire NHL. Remember the name Daniil Miromanov. He’s going to be important for years to come for the VGK.
You may be asking yourself – why should I care about a converted KHL forward that is now playing defense? Because that’s exactly how the sport is trending and if this experiment pans out, it allows the VGK to become very flexible with future upcoming roster decisions. That’s why.
Miromanov, 25, has played sparingly for Vegas this year notching five points in 13 games. On the season, Miromanov has a CF% of 54. Not too shabby! He’s a very flawed player but is someone that has filled in admirably when called upon. More so carrying the torch since Shea Theodore got hurt earlier this year.
The offensive part of his game is there. I guess that really shouldn’t be a surprise as a converted forwarded. He skates well, can carry the puck, and has a pretty good shot. When going forward, Miromanov very much looks like an NHL caliber player. The problem is that he’s a civ defensively right now and it’s not hard to spot.
Just watch 42 try to retrieve the puck here. This goal is on Miromanov and him only. You can find boneheaded defensive errors like this from Miromanov constantly without trying too hard to find him. Despite the offensive prowess, he’s a -6 on the season for a reason.
The skillset is there and crazy development stories happen all the time in this league. Miromanov notched 29 assists in 53 games with the Silver Knights a year ago. You can just see the way he skates and rips pucks on this clip. If you can get things to click, there may be something in there. Once upon a time Brent Burns was a converted forward too. Not saying he’s close in terms of Burns as a talent. What I am saying is that maybe this guy can be a real NHL contributor.
Vegas has so much blue line depth on the roster already. Miromanov just has to become good enough defensively and he very well could have a permanent spot on this roster in the coming years. Could Vegas for example look to move off Alec Martinez a year early while he’s still dominating the leaderboards in blocked shots? It’s something I’d consider. Is Miromanov just good depth insurance? Time will tell but Bruce Cassidy has made it very clear he’s going to have to continue making strides on defense to become a mainstay at the NHL level.
