Red Wings Pick a Speed Demon

On his head he was wearing an old-school Jofa bucket – the old soap holder, as Igor Larionov used to call his Jofa helmet that he wore while playing for the Red Wings.

He dubbed it this because the plastic of the helmet was about the same thickness as those plastic containers your mom used to give you to hold a bar of soap when you went away to summer camp.

Buchelnikov’s wardrobe alterations didn’t end there, though. On the back of his jersey, across his shoulders, instead of his name it read “Electronic.”

Red Wings Pick Is KHL’s Fastest Skater

And then it was his turn in the fastest skater competition. And did Buchelnikov ever put forth an electric performance. Circling the ice in a time of 13.737 seconds, he won the event.

By comparison, when Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin won the fatest skater event at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, his winning time was a still-NHL record 13.172 seconds.

Buchelnikov was the first skater up in the competition and he set a standard that no one could better.

“As you can see, I was the first today,” Buchelnikov told KHL.ru. “I even started from a standing start.”

Oddly enough, one question mark that scouts pose about Buchelnikov’s NHL hopes are to do with his skating ability.

“Maybe I’m not the fastest in the league, but I did well in the competition,” Buchelnikov said. “I guess the skates were sharpened well at the club. The atmosphere is fantastic, I’m delighted and surprised.

“You can feel the fans’ love for hockey. It’s nice to get a boost of positive energy.”

Detroit chose Buchelnikov 52nd overall in the 2022 NHL entry draft. The winger is currently leading Vityaz of the KHL in scoring with 13-27-40 totals in 49 games.