The Coquitlam Express has reached central Asia to bolster its forward corps.
The BC Hockey League team announced today, Jan. 10, it's signed 19-year-old left winger Nikita Sitnikov, who scored a goal and an assist for Kazakhstan’s national junior team at the recent IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Ottawa.
He also represented Kazakhstan at the Division 1 World Junior Championship last year and the Division 1 U18 World Championship in 2022-23.
Sitnikov, who’s 5’11” and weighs 176 pounds, has played the past two seasons for Snezhnye Barys Astana in the MHL, Russia’s top major junior hockey league. The team is affiliated with Barys Astana in the KHL, Russia’s version of the NHL. In 52 total games, he has eight goals and 15 points.
“Nikita is a shifty, fast, smart forward who brings an edge to his game that will translate well to the BCHL,” said Express general manager Tali Campbell in a news release, adding Sitnikov should be available to the team next week.
The signing is the latest in a series of roster moves by Campbell to bolster the team’s scoring including a trade that brought 18-year-old right winger Carson McGinley to Coquitlam from the Sherwood Park Crusaders. He’s scored two goals in the two games he’s played since joining the Express.
Coquitlam also acquired the rights to forward Connor Seeley from the Trail Smoke Eaters.
He’s been playing for Olds Grizzlys where he’s scored 22 goals in 29 games. But he’s currently injured and his status with the Express remains unknown, said Campbell.
After a hot start to the season in which the Express won five of its first six games and was atop the BCHL’s Coast Conference standings, Coquitlam has slipped to sixth, nine points behind the first-place Chilliwack Chiefs.
The Express plays the seventh-place Langley Rivermen tonight at the George Preston Arena in Langley then hosts the Rivermen Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex.
The game is the team’s annual autism acceptance promotion that includes a quieter, more sensory-friendly experience and a special exhibition game between periods featuring players from the Canucks Autism Network.
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