Russian prospect Vitali Kravtsov appears to be on the way back to the US following news of his demotion to the second tier VHL in Russia last week. The 2018 9th overall pick spent a handful of games this season with Hartford before returning to his native Russia after reportedly being unhappy.
His time back with his former team Traktor Chelyabinsk didn’t go well though, resulting in just one shift in his final two games before he was demoted to their farm team, based in the same city. Since the news broke, Rangers General Manager has been working to bring Kravtsov back to the US, and it appears that this will now happen, though the exact timeframe remains to be seen.
Playing for Hartford, the Rangers will have a much greater chance of influencing his career path, and the hope if that they’ll be able to make the 19-year-old feel a little more comfortable so far from home and get him back on track to being one of the highest ratied talents in the organization.