Red Wings' top Russian prospect being healthy scratched: A cause of concern?

Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings drafted Dmitri Buchelnikov in 2022, but his development hasn't been that much followed in Detroit, as the player has been in the KHL ever since.

Indeed, the 22-year-old Russian winger has spent the past three seasons with St. Petersburg SKA, Vladivostok Admiral, and Balashikha Vityaz and currently plays for CSKA Moscow.

He had a career-high 54-point season with Vityaz last year and has been producing at a great rhythm so far this year with CSKA, with 20 points, including 10 goals, in 30 games.

Despite being at the second rank among his team for points and goals, behind former NHLer Daniel Sprong, the team decided to make him a healthy scratch for today's game.

In the KHL, there's a history of players drafted in the NHL developing in Russia not getting treated fairly by their training staff, often getting less ice time, or even getting booted out of the lineup as a way to put pressure and convince them to remain in the KHL instead of going to North America. Montreal Canadiens' Ivan Demidov is the latest example.

Today, Dmitri Buchelnikov, even if he's one of the best players on his team, was made a healthy scratch for today's game:

However, that could also be a rest day for the young forward. Buchelnikov usually spends between 14 and 18 minutes on the ice per game.

He has a big role on the team, and he appears to be treated well, which makes the rest day scenario more plausible.

The player will become a free agent at the end of the current season, meaning he could come over to North America next year. Stay tuned.