There are only a few hockey players who were not in the KHL at one time: we remember the Israeli Eliezer Shcherbatov, the Japanese Yu Sato, and the Canadian with Portuguese roots Justin Azevedo showed himself to be excellent in Ak Bars, making a significant contribution to Kazan winning the Gagarin Cup in 2018. But there has never been a Dutchman in our international league, not only in Russian, but also in foreign clubs. The signing of forward Daniel Sprong on a one-year contract with CSKA is a truly unique event for the main European hockey championship. It will be all the more interesting to watch the next season and the game of this fairly well-known athlete in the world.
What do we know about Sprong? In the 2024/2025 season, the 28-year-old Dutch forward played for three different NHL clubs. He started the regular season with the Vancouver Canucks, then moved to the Seattle Kraken, and finished it with the New Jersey Devils. In 30 games, Sprong scored 7 (2+5) points. In addition to games in the National Hockey League, the player also played in the AHL, where he played 19 games, scoring 25 (11+14) points. During his NHL career, Sprong played 388 games. In these games, he managed to score 169 (88+81) points. The forward also has experience playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Washington Capitals, and Detroit Red Wings. You must admit, his track record is solid.
It's great that the KHL, especially in the current difficult geopolitical situation, was able to bring a hockey player of such level and experience. This is certainly one of the most striking and discussed transfers in the KHL this offseason. It should be noted that it was CSKA that initially pursued the player, wanting to increase the diversity of their wingers. Later, other top KHL clubs, including Ak Bars, joined the fight for the forward. As a result, the army team got Sprong into their ranks at the finish line. Although the capital of Tatarstan also offered more than solid financial conditions. However, the Dutchman chose CSKA, receiving a base salary of 75 million rubles per year. In addition, as I reported the day before, the contract includes a bonus, which will total 150 million rubles. The player can earn 50 million for getting into the top 3 best scorers at the end of the regular season, the same amount if he ends up in the top 3 best snipers of the regular season, and another 50 million if he scores 80 points in the regular season. Of course, in Igor Nikitin's system, you have to try very hard to achieve such results, but nothing is impossible. Sprong was invited to CSKA in the top 6 to play as one of the attacking leaders, so the principle "if you want to earn more, prove that you are better than the rest" works here. Everything is logical and correct.
Contract negotiations were clearly not easy, and Sprong himself had to be convinced to go play in Russia. The work of the CSKA management team, headed by the club's president Igor Esmantovich and the hockey player's agent Alyosha Pilko, who once again demonstrated the ability to bring high-quality legionnaires with a name to the KHL, looks even more valuable and high-quality. Now it's up to Daniel himself. He needs to confirm his high level of skill and justify all the advances given by the press and fans.
