When the Chicago Blackhawks selected Roman Kantserov with the 44th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, there wasn’t a lot of fanfare. In fact, I remember a lot of sentiment being that they added another undersized forward to the mix when they needed more size. Fast forward to November 2025, and nobody is worried about his size as the young Russian forward has become one of the organization’s top prospects.
Kantserov came on late during the 2023-24 KHL season for Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He nearly equaled his regular-season totals with four goals and 13 points in the postseason, helping Metallurg win the league championship.