San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) General manager Mike Grier announced today that the club acquired forward Egor Afanasyev from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Ozzy Wiesblatt.
Afanasyev, 23, led the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) with 54 points and 27 goals and finished third on the club with 27 assists in 56 games during the 2023-24 season. He recorded his first professional hat trick on November 8 against Toronto and finished the regular season with 14 multi-point attempts, including a career-high four points on April 17 against Manitoba. He added nine points (five goals, four assists) in 15 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs, finishing third on the team in postseason goals, and scored a three-goal hat trick on May 22 at Grand Rapids. Additionally, he skated in two games with the Nashville Predators in 2023-24, on February 13 against New Jersey and on February 15 against Dallas.
The forward made his NHL debut on March 11, 2023 and finished the 2022-23 campaign with one goal in 17 NHL games, on April 10 in Calgary. In the AHL that same season, Afanasyev scored 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 57 regular season games and 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 16 playoff games. In his first professional season in 2021-22, Afanasyev had 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) in 74 games.
He spent the 2020-21 season on loan at CSKA Moskva of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and appeared in 16 games, finishing his club career with six points (two goals, four assists). He also competed in two games in the VHL and four games in the MHL that year.
Prior to his professional career, Afanasyev played one season with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), scoring 67 points (31 goals, 36 assists) in 62 games in 2019-20, and spent the previous two seasons with the Muskegon . Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL), who earned USHL Third All-Star Team honors in 2018-19 after tallying 62 points (27 goals, 35 assists) in 58 games.
In international play, Afanasyev represented Russia at the 2021 World Youth Championship and finished the tournament with five points (two goals, three assists) in seven games.
The six-foot-four, 211-pound native of Tver, Russia was selected by Nashville in the 2019 NHL Draft (second round, 45th overall).
Wiesblatt, 22, spent most of the last two seasons with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and finished with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 34 games in 2023-24 and 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 45 Games in 2022-23. He played in 16 regular-season games and 15 postseason games while on loan to Milwaukee to conclude the 2023-24 season, tallying 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in those 31 games.
Wiesblatt spent his junior career with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League (WHL), helping the club win a league title in 2018-19. He concluded his tenure with the team with 179 points (58 goals, 121 assists) in 195 career WHL games.
The five-foot-10, 183-pound native of Calgary, Alberta, was selected by San Jose in the 2020 NHL Draft (1st round, 31st overall).
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