Washington Capitals prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov will not play in the National Hockey League next year, as the Russian plans on signing a two-year contract extension in the KHL.
The 26th-overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft recently told the Russian sports website sovsport.ru that although a contract has not been signed, he had made the decision to stay in Russia and play of Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL for at least the next two years.
“I think we have a very strong team and I will continue to gain more experience and progress with the team. I am not ready to go to the NHL right now,” Kuznetsov said, according to the translation of Yahoo! Sports’ Puck Daddy writer Dmitry Chesnokov.
“It was a tough decision to make. I spoke with my parents, my wife. And I decided to stay.”
Kuznetsov, who became a restricted free agent in the KHL on Tuesday, is currently overseas practicing with Team Russia at the 2012 IIHF World Hockey Championships that take place from May 4-20 in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.
The 19-year-old has spent the last three seasons with Chelyabinsk Traktor where in 128 games with the club Kuznetsov has 38 goals, 43 assists and 70 penalty minutes.
Kuznetsov is currently considered one of the top NHL prospects not currently in the league.
