The news that Ruslan Iskhakov has signed a contract with the New York Islanders has many Russian fans curious. What kind of actor is this and where he came from is not known to the public. It’s understandable. Iskhakov is only 21 years old and spent only one season in Russia, even four years ago. Our forward took a completely unconventional route before signing a two-year rookie contract with the Big Apple club.

It is wrong to call Iskhakov a student of CSKA. As a child, he went through several schools, including leaving in Slovakia for several years. Which is unusual in itself. However, the rights to the territory of the KHL belong to the Moscow army team. In the 2017/2018 season, the striker played for the Red Army and despite his young age averaged almost one point per game.

Iskhakov from the junior team of CSKA reached the YuChM, but it is better not to remember once again the tournament in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk. Ruslan scored three goals, but the Russian team was devastatingly knocked out of the Americans in the quarterfinals. Since then, he has not traveled to international tournaments, despite being on the broad list of candidates to participate in traditional super series with Canadian junior league teams.

He spent a year in Russia. He played only one tournament for the national team. So where was Iskhakov all this time before the Islanders signed the contract? To begin with, the New York club picked him in the draft and he’s pretty high. The islanders were not even embarrassed by the growth of the 173-centimeter striker. They spent a match against the Russians in the second round. For comparison: Alexander Romanov, now playing in the NHL, Montreal has only had a few peaks before.

In fact, it was the high pick in the draft that caused Iskhakov to move abroad. He and his family calculated that playing in North America would shorten the distance to the NHL. But Ruslan went not to the CHL, which is familiar to Russian youth from Quebec and Ontario, but to the NCAA. In our country, this league is still underestimated to this day, and according to statistics, about a third of current NHL players have passed from this league. But the main point is that players who play in the NCAA combine hockey with their studies. And sometimes hockey goes by the wayside.

“I programmed everything to the minute. If you want to do extra work, get up early in the morning. Then you have school, lunch, ice, gym. You come home at six or seven o’clock and you seem to have free time, but no. You sit down to do your homework. And “You have games on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s normal for college to do your homework on the bus after games. Plus you come home tired and you have two hours left to complete the task. Sit down and do it. Of course it’s hard – a lot of guys can’t stand it.”said Iskhakov.

Iskhakov spent two years at the University of Connecticut. For the second season, even a Russian trio was assembled in his team. Minnesota candidate Vladislav Firstov and guard Yan Kuznetsov, who now plays for the Calgary farm club, arrived. Iskhakov was not the main star of Connecticut, but was distinguished by surprising stability. 21 points in 32 games, his performance both in the first season and in the second season. It was right to expect a breakthrough in the third year, but the coronavirus pandemic has come true.

Uncertainty about the season in America prompted Iskhakov to launch his professional career. But instead of going to Russia, he decided to land in neighboring Finland. One season before Ruslan’s arrival, he signed with TPS, who couldn’t make it to the playoffs, and made it to the finals with him. As the fourth goalscorer in both the regular season and the playoffs, he contributed significantly to the team’s silver from Turku. It also attracted the attention of Russian clubs. Severstal made an offer to Iskhakov.

But the transition under the wing of Andrei Razin did not work. Either Iskhakov did not want to go to Cherepovets, or CSKA refused to send the striker on loan. One way or another, the striker missed the opportunity to work with a coach who loves youth and knows how to develop. Instead Ruslan… went to Germany! He came to Adler from Mannheim at the same time as Nigel Dawes. Given that Iskhakov scored almost one point per game, he could compete with the former KHL star for the team’s top scorer. The injury was averted, however, by knocking out the Russians halfway through the season.

An 18-year-old Russian was severely eliminated in an American student league match. Ended the evening at the hospital

Given Iskhakov’s small size, he is automatically prone to injury. While still playing in the United States, he was once hospitalized after a tough reception. In fact, all the skepticism about it is connected to the newcomer dimension of the Islanders. Otherwise, this is an agile and smart striker who can surprise on the ice. The New York club wanted to sign him earlier but could not due to the “four year rule”. This period must end from the moment of admission to the university. And it doesn’t matter that two of Iskhakov’s four seasons ended in Europe and not the NCAA.

Will Iskhakov play in the NHL? The question is very difficult. Ruslan has been out of sight of both the Islander administration and the Russian audience for the last two seasons. Statistics in the German championship and Finland alone mean little. At the same time, the man’s talent cannot be taken away, and overseas the trend towards fast miniature players is getting stronger. Iskhakov was lucky that the Islanders fired Barry Trotz, whose system it would have been difficult for him to stick to composition. Now, if Ruslan proves to be a farm club, the club could open its doors from New York.