From Russia to PA – Philadelphia Flyer Ivan Provorov and Penn State freshman Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia/Fargo-USHL) are two countrymen and former teammates finding success at different levels in Pennsylvania. Saturday Smirnov visits Provorov’s stomping grounds, Wells Fargo Center, to face Princeton. Five years ago they were teammates on the Wilkes-Barre Knights bantam team that won the USA Hockey national championship. Provorov became the seventh overall pick in 2015 and is excelling as a rookie for the Flyers; undrafted to this point, Smirnov should be selected in the 2017 NHL Draft in his final year of eligibility. He leads Penn State in scoring, ranks second among freshmen nationally and was rated in NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings released last week.
Source: Notes: Minn. Supremacy on Line | College Hockey, Inc.