Yan Khomenko went through some trying times last season as a teenaged Russian hockey player attempting to navigate his way around the Western Hockey League.
It was hard enough playing hockey in one of the highest-calibre junior leagues in the world, but the challenges of life away from the rink made his adjustment to North American customs an even bigger mountain to climb.
When he arrived in Everett to play for the Silvertips, the team that selected him in the second round of the 2015 CHL import draft (15th overall), the 17-year-old Khomenko neither spoke nor understood English.
Playing for the coach Kevin Constantine's Silvertips, a team that struggled all season to score goals, Khomenko collected five goals and nine points in 45 games. It was certainly not what he was hoping for after he had jumped to the head of the class in the preseason, leading the Silvertips in scoring with five points in three games.
Khomenko, 18, was the odd man out when the Silvertips used their import picks this past summer to select Finnish winger Eeetu Tuulola and Slovenian winger Mario Mucka. Luckily for Prince George Cougar fans, Cats general manager Todd Harkins learned he was available and made him an offer of steady employment playing left wing for the Cougars.
Having spent the first 10 years of his life in Novosibursk, Russia, the largest city in Siberia, Khomenko had no problem accepting the fact the Cougars play in cold-winter climate. Prince George is just one degree of latitude closer to the equator than Novosibursk and he from his earliest days on skates he got used to seeing snow on the ground in his minor hockey travels. His dad Igor didn't play hockey with a puck, using a ball instead, but he passed on his hockey instincts to his only child. Igor and his wife Natalia moved to St. Petersburg when Yan was 10, knowing it was the best place for their son to play hockey, and Cougar fans at CN Centre are seeing the results.
Through 12 games heading into tonight's contest against the Saskatoon Blades (7 p.m., CN Centre), Khomenko has already matched his point productivity numbers from last year, with four goals and five assists.
"Yan has been a great surprise for us, he's come in here and played the way he should," said Cougars head coach Richard Matvichuk. "He works really hard, he sees the ice well and he's well-liked in the dressing room. Sometimes for Europeans coming over here to play it's tough to get included in everything but he has been. He's put his teammates first and his teammates love him and for me that's great to see."
"He's very skilled and he knows where he can take that extra chance to make sure the pucks don't get turned over. He makes those plays at the blueline and not very often does it get turned over and when it does he's one of those guys who gets on his horse and backchecks like he should.
"Everett plays a very structured style and maybe it wasn't the right fit for his system or for him personally. He's come in here and done everything we've asked about him. He's playing on the power play, he's doing the right things and he's been a great fit."
Khomenko's linemates, centre Aaron Boyd and right winger Josh Curtis certainly like playing with him. Ranked as the third line on the depth chart, they've been getting plenty of icetime and are contributing offensively, following the lead of the ever-dangerous Khomenko.
"He has a lot of skill, good dangles, and a good shot, he's been good on our line," said Curtis. "You can always count n him in the o-zone, he carries the puck well."
That line was formed four games into the season.
"We gelled together pretty quick," said Boyd. "He's pretty good at not turning the puck over, I can trust him to skate the puck in and we'll drive the net. He's a good power skater.
"I couldn't even imagine not knowing the language or how to explain what you want to say and besides all that you have to play hockey and learn systems and all that type of stuff."
Acting on his father's advice, Khomenko made the choice to come to the WHL on his 17th birthday.
"He wanted me to come because he knew the hockey was good in Canada," sad Khomenko.
The season before he joined the Silvertips, Khomenko played for the Moscow Dymamo under-17 team, where he scored 20 goals and 30 points in 33 games. That earned him notice from the KHL and he was drafted by Ak Bars Kazan, who picked him in the third round, 62nd overall in 2015. Khomenko knows some of the Russians now playing in the WHL and spent some time with his good friend Artyom Minulin, a defenceman for the Swift Current Broncos, before their game on Tuesday. He's looking forward to crossing paths again with Edmonton Oil Kings defenceman Anatolii Elizarov and Moose Jaw winger Nikita Popugaev, his minor hockey teammates, when they play the Cougars later this season.
Khomenko's favourite NHL player is Chicago Blackhawks left winger Artemi Panarin, the NHL's rookie of the year last season. Like the rest of the Cougars, it's Khomenko's dream to become a professional. He's thankful he's landed with the top-ranked Cougars, who have given him that chance.
"Hockey here is so different," said Khomenko. "The hockey here is so good, the league's so good. It's power hockey, strong hockey, and the first year I was just 'wow.' Now I'm playing good and no problem. Last year I didn't understand anything.
"I'm feeling good with the Prince George Cougars, the coaching is good, and I like my partners (Boyd and Collins). I have four goals and five assists because I have good partners. Guys on my team are so skilled. I like the fans in Prince George, they come to the games with big (cardboard cutouts of the) players' faces. I love it."
He predicts their loyalty will be rewarded at the end of the season.
"We're going to win the WHL and the Memorial Cup," he said. "We have a good team, we'll just do it."
