Making the rounds a few weeks ago was a rumour circulating KHL centre Vitali Pinchuk and his possibility of signing with an NHL club.
The Zhlobin, Belarus native has drawn quite a bit of interest, including that of the Philadelphia Flyers, according to DFO’s Anthony Di Marco.
Pinchuk is a 24-year-old centre currently playing with Dynamo Minsk, where Flyers farmhand goalie Aleksei Kolosov spent his time in the KHL. The duo played together between 2020-21 and 2023-24 before Kolosov made the jump to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Pinchuk has improved mightily over the last several seasons as he’s notched 31 goals and 66 points in 65 games this season. That is coming off the back of a 25-goal and 43-point campaign in 66 games the year prior, where he also added 11 points in the playoffs.
Minsk is off to the second round of the KHL playoffs after sweeping Dynamo Moscow. Pinchuk collected a goal and 3 points in 4 games and will now be playing Ak Bars Kazan in the next round.
Earlier in the year, Thomas Drance of The Athletic, reported that 29 teams around the NHL reached out to Pinchuk’s camp about signing him to an entry-level contract.
Considering the lack of centres available on the open market, Pinchuk will be a hot commodity league-wide. The Flyers would love to add someone of his ilk, as he not only fits the age of the core they’re building, but he also stands in at 6’3” and 205 pounds.
The Flyers don’t have any centres knocking on the door from the Phantoms or within their junior circuit outside of Jett Luchanko, so Pinchuk would likely have an immediate role with the club should he decide to sign with the Orange and Black.
The Flyers dipped their toe in the KHL pond just as recently as last year when they were interested in Maxim Shabanov. Many felt he was destined to sign with the Flyers before he ultimately landed a deal with the New York Islanders.
Expect Daniel Brière and company to try again this summer with Pinchuk as he checks off nearly every box for the Flyers, but he will be dealing with a lot more teams than he had to fend off last year for the Shabanov sweepstakes.
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