Daniil Zhuravlyov

January 2023 – The Avalanche terminated the contract of Zhuravlyov earlier this season and he has returned to Russia. The organization clearly did not see what they hoped in terms of a transition into a shut-down role in the AHL, and the player had already returned to Russia for personal reasons prior to the official termination, so by all accounts this was simply a shot that didn’t hit. Given the player’s skillset they were unlikely to be fantasy-relevant. Hayden Soboleski

September 2022 – Zhuravlyov has been assigned to the AHL to begin his North American pro career; even wit his years of KHL experience an immediate jump into a deep NHL blue line would have required an exceptional pre-season. The uneventful rearguard didn’t see big minutes in exhibition play but was tried out on the PK as expected based on his prior experience. It appears the organization intends to make this a slow and steady transition, so his minutes throughout the 2022-23 season will be the biggest indicator for fantasy owners of how long-term of a project this may be. He has minimal fantasy relevance at this time. Hayden Soboleski

May 2022 – Colorado has signed Zhuravlyov to a 2-year ELC. The Russian blueliner will most likely be joining the AHL Eagles for 2022-23 to see how his game adjusts to a North American style. Hayden Soboleski

February 2022 – A stagnant season has led to Zhuravlyov’s aTOI taking a hit and sitting near the bottom of the strong defense corps of Ak Bars Kazan. Playing under 15:00 per night in the regular season while managing just six points in 43 contests wont get fantasy owners very excited, but old-schoolers may like that the shutdown d-man’s plus-13 rating topped the list of blueliners. He is credited with over 1 block per game but almost no hits, and his shot volume is less than one per game, so his multi-cat peripheral value will need to be proven rather than assumed if he ever comes to North America. Hayden Soboleski

June 2021 – Zhuravlyov’s second KHL campaign went reasonable well upon returning from injury. His club finished 1st in the regular season and made it to the conference finals, and his personal stats all showed minor upticks (13 points in 38 games, 15 minutes aTOI). He is still a long ways from fantasy-relevance, but his slow and steady development in the KHL is going the right direction. Hayden Soboleski

September 2020 – Shortly after signing his contract extension, Zhuravlyov has a suspected broken arm and will miss a few months of play. Hayden Soboleski

September 2020 – The Russian defender has reportedly signed a KHL contract extension taking him to the end of the 2021-22 season. He wasn’t expected to have a major North American impact before this point, so this lines up well with when we can expect him to step into meaningful AHL minutes should he continue to evolve into a reliable any-situation defenseman. His fantasy upside is still very limited. Hayden Soboleski

January 2020 – Zhuravlyov’s 2 points in 8 WJC contests didn’t wow anyone, but he had a quietly decent tournament. He was moved between pairings as players made mistakes or got hot, but he saw good minutes in most contests and made a notable big save on the goal line in Russia’s semifinal win. He is not the type of player that generates highlights or hype, so his fantasy value has likely been stagnant. Not worth drafting in the near future. Hayden Soboleski

December 2019 – Zhuravlyov is once again in the mix to represent Team Russia’s preliminary roster for the upcoming WJC. This would be the 19-year-old’s second time representing Russia at the U20 tournament, after registering just one point in seven contests in the 2019 event.

Zhuraylyov’s 8 points in 30 KHL games as a rookie is fairly impressive, along with his aTOI over 13 minutes in a league that is often hesitant to play youngsters consistently. He earned KHL Rookie-of-the-Month honors in September 2019. Interestingly, he currently has zero hits registered over the course of the year, and only 17 SOG, so he certainly isn’t projecting as a multi-category performer thus far. The 2018 5th-round-pick of the Avalanche does enough things well enough to be a reliable asset on the back end without worrying about who the opposition has on the ice, and seems to be the type of player who is doing his job best when he goes unnoticed. Unlikely to be as valuable on fantasy rosters as he is on real ones. Hayden Soboleski