Hockey prodigy Vladimir Tarasenko is not ready to move to the NHL with the St. Louis Blues, his former KHL coach Milos Riha said Monday.
The 20-year-old right wing took up his entry contract with the Blues last month after four seasons in the KHL in which he racked up 100 points in 176 games.
“It was his decision and his choice. To my mind, he has got ahead of himself a little bit,” SKA St. Petersburg coach Riha said on the KHL website.
“I think that he could play a couple more years in KHL and grew to maturity as a hockey player. I can only wish him luck.”
SKA has a reputation as a big-spending team keen to recruit stars, but none of its seven signings this summer are household names.
The St. Petersburg team is still targeting a famous new recruit, Riha sai.
“We’ll try to buy one famous player whose name everyone knows.”
SKA’s transfer plans had suffered setbacks, he said.
“Our lists included several players who we wanted to see in our team, but due to different circumstances we couldn’t sign them all,” he said.
SKA recorded its best KHL result last season, reaching the Western Conference final before a 4-0 series thrashing by eventual Gagarin Cup champion Dynamo Moscow, and has signaled a desire to win the league’s highest honor next season.
The new season starts September 4.
