Yegor Sharangovich

March 2021 – Sharangovich has been whack-a-moling his way through this lineup – he has popped up on all four lines so far, and in almost every forward position of the 12 available. He has seven points so far, and is not looking a hair out of place with the Devils. He could definitely show more support off the puck, but his play has been good enough to see him play all but two Devils games. Hadi Kalakeche

January 2021 – Despite Ty Smith’s emergence into the Devils’ lineup, it is Yegor Sharangovich that has earned the title of “Surprise of the Rookie Camp”. He showed the speed, finishing, and defensive positioning of an NHL-ready forward, and earned a spot beside Hughes and Palmieri on the first line for the opening night against Boston, with Hischier out after a training injury sidelined him for the start of the season. Lindy Ruff seemed to trust him in all situations, throwing him out on both special team units and reasonably at 5v5, leading to him averaging 17 minutes a night and scoring the overtime winner with seconds left in his second game of the season. It will be interesting to see how Hischier’s return will affect the Belarusian rookie, and if he will be able to keep the jump in his step for an entire season filled with back-to-backs and physical encounters. Hadi Kalakeche

November 2020 – Yegor Sharangovich has been all but forgotten since sliding down the lineup in the AHL, despite putting up 10 goals and 15 assists in 57 games as a 21-year-old. In that same season, Sharangovich drove 13% more offense than his teammates when he was on the ice, and still only earned 14 minutes of ice-time per game. Since his move to the KHL (on loan) with Minsk, the young Belarussian has proved what he can do in a comfortable environment, where it is easier to communicate with teammates and staff. He is on a tear right now, racking up 15 goals in 29 games with limited powerplay time and, surprisingly, captaining their team as a 22-year-old in Russia’s top level of hockey. However, his play drops greatly on smaller ice, where his margin for error is far shorter, and his current shot percentage of 18% is an unsustainable jump from the 11% he managed in 2019-20 with Binghamton. His finishing abilities, size, skating, and stick-checking should see him play games at the NHL level, but without refining his questionable passing and decision-making in all zones, he will struggle to maintain consistent ice-time. If his bad habits are spotted and rectified fast enough by Binghamton’s staff, however, Sharangovich could score 20 goals and run a second Penalty Kill unit in the NHL one day. Hadi Kalakeche