The Chicago Blackhawks prospect Ivan Nalimov recently broke one of his hands and is expected to miss two to three weeks, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic.
The 24-year-old goaltender has a .917 save percentage through four starts with the Kunlun Red Star in the KHL. His .938 save percentage in 23 KHL games for Ufa Salavat Yulaev and Vladivostok Admiral last season.
Chicago drafted the 6-foot-4, 209-pound goalie in the sixth round in 2014. The Hawks have retained Nalimov’s rights passed the two-year window established by the 2013 player transfer agreement because the KHL didn’t agree to it. The agreement extends to nearly every prominent hockey federation in Europe for how the league handles draft rights. The KHL and NHL agreed to a different one that allows Russians playing in the KHL to continue doing so without their draft rights elapsing.
In August, Nalimov’s agent, Shumi Babaev, told The Athletic that his client would play one more season in the KHL before coming to the NHL.