The Los Angeles Kings have signed 22-year-old defenseman Kirill Kirsanov to a two-year entry-level deal, the team announced today. Kirsanov, the team’s third-round selection in the 2021 draft, spent last season split between the Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL and the Torpedo-Gorky NN in the VHL (Russia’s top developmental league). His contract will run through the 2026-27 season.
At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, Kirsanov already has the physical traits NHL teams covet and profiles more as a prototypical defensive-minded blueliner than an offensive one. In 34 games in the KHL last season, he posted three goals and seven points to go along with eight penalty minutes and a plus-five rating. He scored seven points in 28 VHL regular season games and added five points in 19 playoff games for Torpedo-Gorky NN, who would go on to win their first VHL Championship in club history.
The Kings appear to have most of their defensive spots locked up for next season with Drew Doughty, Mikey Anderson, Joel Edmundson, Jordan Spence, and Brandt Clarke all set to return, and Kyle Burroughs and Jacob Moverare also in the mix. While Kirsanov will more than likely begin his North American career in the AHL, his development will be crucial for a team facing several question marks on the blue line in the not-too-distant future. Spence and Clarke both have one year remaining on their current contracts and are due for significant raises, while Moverare and Burroughs are also entering the final year of their deals. If Kirsanov can put all the pieces together, he could push for an NHL spot sooner rather than later.