Kings sign defenseman Kirill Kirsanov to two-year, entry-level contract

The LA Kings have signed defenseman Kirill Kirsanov to a two-year, entry-level contract, running through the 2026-27 season.

Instant Analysis
Kirsanov has always been an interesting prospect to me. For two reasons, I’ve kept him on my radar, despite not playing within the Kings system until, presumably, the 2025-26 season.

First, when the Kings selected Kirsanov in the 2021 NHL Draft, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman had him as his 16th ranked prospect in the entire draft class. The Kings traded up to select Kirsanov in the third round, so by Pronman’s evaluation, the pick was a massive steal, coming two rounds later than Pronman had him rated. Just one man’s rankings, certainly, but here’s what Pronman had to say about Kirsanov four years ago –

Kirsanov is an interesting player because he’s a well-rounded but boring player. You’re not going to see him make some end-to-end highlight-reel rush. He’s 6-foot-1 and doesn’t put up a ton of points, but every coach he plays for leans on him. His minutes kept going up at the world juniors, he’s already played for Russia’s national team at the senior level, and he held his own on a good KHL team and got playoff games. He’s very intelligent with the puck, he skates quite well, kills a lot of rushes, and has enough puck skill to play on a power play, although that may not be his role in the NHL. I could see him being a solid two-way defenseman at the NHL level, though. His conditioning is a minor issue. He also signed a two-year extension with SKA. In a sentence, Kirsanov projects as a reliable top-four defenseman who may not put up a lot of offense, but I’m not ruling out him being on an NHL second power-play either.

Second, Mark Yannetti had an interesting assessment of Kirsanov as well. He pointed to a shorter than usual trajectory for Kirsanov, meaning that his timeline to reach the NHL after going through the development process should be, if all panned out according to plan, shorter than the average prospect. With that came, perhaps, more limited upside, but as someone who could get to the NHL quicker than most and be ready to contribute once he got there. Don’t expect a 60-point player, but hi Here’s Yannetti’s assessment from 2021, after the Kings selected Kirsanov –

Really strong defensive play, very mature game that way. He has some physicality, though it manifests itself a little bit more in a heavy presence, an ability to control opponents, rather than a ‘run you over’ type of physicality. Very good straight-line skating. This is an 18-year-old kid who played in the KHL, and he played real minutes. Then, he goes to the World Juniors and he becomes their number-one defenseman in our opinion, by the end of the tournament. He was able to play the exact type of game we like, in that type of a role, as a young kid, against the highest level of competition he could possibly play against. Then, you throw in the fact that he moves the puck quickly, we liked his hockey sense.”

So, for those reasons, he’s always been of interest to me. Now, we will presumably get the opportunity to see him in person for the first time this summer. Kirsanov attended development camp for the Kings last summer but was unable to participate due to injury. He did not participate in the Rookie Faceoff this past fall, which is customary for European-based players, who have already begun their professional seasons. The ELC should clear the way for Kirsanov to participate in both, on the ice, for the first time since he was drafted. That’s a very positive sign. Would expect Kirsanov to begin the season in the AHL with the Ontario Reign, but as noted above, his projected timeline was always expected to be shorter, so we’ll see how he adjusts to the game in North America and where that slots him in on the depth chart going forward.

From the team’s official release –

Kirsanov, 22, skated in 34 games for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Russia’s top professional hockey league, where he recorded three goals and seven points (3-4=7) with eight penalty minutes (PIM) and a plus-5 rating. The 6-2, 220-pound blueliner also tallied seven points (1-6=7) in 28 games for Torpedo-Gorky NN in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL), Russia’s top development hockey league. He added five points (1-4=5) in 19 VHL playoff games to help the Torpedo-Gorky NN to their first VHL Championship in franchise history.

Selected by the Kings in the third round (84th-overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft, Kirsanov has played parts of five seasons (2020-25) in the KHL split between St. Petersburgh SKA (2020-23), Podolsk Vityaz (2023-24) and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (2023-25), accumulating 19 points (5-14=19) in 120 career regular-season games. He added one assist in eight career KHL playoff contests. Kirsanov also posted eight goals and 21 assists (8-21=29) in 72 career VHL regular-season games, and 10 points (4-6=10) in 36 playoff outings, split between SKA-Neva St. Petersburg (2020-23), HC Ryazan (2023-24) and Torpedo-Gorky NN (2024-25).

Internationally, the Tver, Russia native has represented his home country at the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Men’s World Junior Championship where he collected two points (1-1=2) and a plus-1 rating.