With its final pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville, the Florida Panthers selected forward Stepan Zvyagin in the seventh round (198th overall) from the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk; the only Belarusian club in the league. Hockey fans should be well aware of some of the NHL’s Belarusian players who previously played for Dinamo Minsk. Names include former and present NHL players such as Vladimir Tsyplakov, Mikhail Grabovski, Andrei Kostitsyn, Sergei Kostitsyn, Aliaksey Protas, Yegor Sharangovich, as well as former Panthers defenseman Ruslan Salei and prospect Vladislav Kolyachonok, who was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in the deal that netted the pick that was used to choose Zvyagin.
● Stepan Zvyagin (19)
● Drafted: 198th overall
● Position: Forward
● Height/Weight: 6’0″, 161 lbs
● Current Team: Dinamo Minsk
● Shoots: Left
● Nation: Dual Belarus/Russia
Zvyagin was born in Moscow in April of 2004, where he began playing hockey at a young age at the Spartak Hockey School. At the age of 13, Stepan decided to enroll in the Dinamo Sports School in the city of Minsk, Republic of Belarus. It was a CYSOR (government sponsored Children’s/Youth boarding School of the Olympic Reserve) where children receive a high school education by combining their studies with sports. His parents visited Stepan just a few times a year. Later, in an interview, Zvyagin explained his move to Belarus by saying that he could not find himself in Moscow, where competition amongst young hockey players is much higher.
In the 2021-22 season, he played for both Dinamo-Molodechno (farm club of Dinamo Minsk, Belarusian Extraleague) and Minsk Zubrs (Belarusian Youth League). In the summer of 2022, he was invited to the adult national team of Belarus. Stepan played two games at a tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia and scored a couple of goals. In the first game against the youth national team of Russia, he scored a goal after an excellent individual play. He got the puck in the neutral zone, burst into the opponent’s zone at great speed, skillfully beat the defenseman, and sent the puck into the net with a nice backhand. In the second game, the Belarusian national team played against the Russian National team. Zvyagin got the puck in the offensive zone, quickly moved behind the net and then scored a beautiful wrap-around goal.
During the 2022-23 campaign, Zvyagin played for Dynamo Minsk of the KHL, arguably the second best league in the world, and for Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruisk of the MHL (Youth League). As part of Dinamo Minsk roster, Stepan played 15 regular season KHL games under the leadership of Canadian head coach, Craig Woodcroft. He also played in three playoff games. Here are his statistics in the KHL’s regular season:
● Games played: 15
● +/-: -1
● PIM: 0
● PTS: 1 (1G/0A)
● TOI average: 5.00/game
● SNF average: 6.5/game
● Hits: 5
● Blocks: 6
In his 37 games with Dinamo-Shinnik Bobruisk of the MHL,
Stepan amassed 14 goals and 33 points. These statistics show that he can produce at a high level against his peer group.
Below you can read what various people from the hockey world say about Zvyagin.
Denis Bulgakov, Zvyagin’s youth coach: “He is a playmaker who can decide an episode, score, and take the lead in a difficult situation. He is very well coordinated, and due to this, he sometimes does such things on the ice! He scored several lacrosse-style goals before, so I wasn’t surprised when he scored a wrap-around against Russia. Very interesting technique, easy skating, as if he were floating above the ice. Explosive. These are the features that made him stand out. Yes, there were some questions about his game discipline, but ability to play more responsibly, I think, will increase with age as well as an improvement in his defensive play.”
Alexey Strahov, head coach of Minsk Zubrs: “Obviously, Stepan is a talented guy, and I’m not the only one who notes this. But a player, such as him, is not suitable for every coach. There are specialists who generally do not condone if a player on the ice does not follow instructions from the bench. Of course, we also did not turn a blind eye to Zvyagin’s mistakes, we worked on them. But the value of this forward is that due to his high hockey IQ, he can create a goal out of nothing. He is tremendously skilled and has a rich arsenal of hockey tricks. He is not yet particularly strong in board battles, but there is speed, movement, possession of a stick, and vision of the field.”
Artem Botvenkov, head coach of Dinamo Molodechno: “You can call him a very creative player. I always liked him for his perseverance, focus on the net, and individual actions. Everything for him is ahead. The main thing is to work, use his best qualities and the time and attitude of the player will show what will happen next.”
Panthers general manager Bill Zito had this to say after the draft: “He’s from Belarus and he’s under contract for a couple years, so that was one where I think maybe he fell because you might not have access to him
for a while. However, he is tremendously skilled, and (he’s also) playing with the men (in aprofessional league).”
Zvyagin’s contract with Dinamo Minsk is valid until April 30, 2026. So, it’s likely to be some time before we see on him in North American ice, unless it’s tournament play.
Highlight Package
The Russian McDavid???
First KHL goal, two goals for the Belarus national team
Sweet backhander!