Chicago Blackhawk Artemis Panarin (centre) with Russian couple Andrew Aksyonov (left) and Yulia Mikhaylova in Chicago. PICTURE: Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

By Chris Hine/Chicago Tribune


When Artemi Panarin landed at O’Hare in August to begin his life in the United States as a Blackhawk, he had a lot on his mind.
How would he fit in despite not knowing the language? Would he be able to play at a high level in the NHL? Where was he going to live?
But perhaps his most pressing thought that day was — how would he find his ride?
The driver was Andrew Aksyonov, a Russian-born Chicago resident who lives in the Lincoln Park neighbourhood, with his wife, Yulia Mikhaylova, and their two children. Aksyonov and Panarin had pre-arranged a strategy to spot each other at O’Hare, given Panarin’s difficulty with English and the challenge of getting a Russian cell phone to work on American soil.
Aksyonov recalled: “He said, ‘I’ll have my hockey sticks with me. How will I know who you are?’ I said, OK, I’ll wear a SKA St. Petersburg shirt.”
SKA St. Petersburg was Panarin’s Kontinental Hockey League team in Russia before he joined the Hawks.
To get started in his new world, Panarin searched for something familiar from his old world. “It worked,” Aksyonov said. “We found each other.”
Panarin is certainly glad they did. Panarin is thriving during his inaugural season in the NHL — he leads all rookies in points. His adjustment to life in the NHL and Chicago has been fairly smooth, thanks in part to Aksyonov, who, along with former SKA teammate Viktor Tikhonov, have helped Panarin navigate through his first few months in America — so much so that Panarin and Aksyonov’s family have become good friends over the last few months. “They basically did everything for me,” Panarin said through Tikhonov, who translates for Panarin during interviews.
How they all came together begins in St. Petersburg, where the Aksyonov and Mikhaylova grew up and where Panarin became a sought-after star in the KHL. The Hawks didn’t pluck Panarin out of obscurity.
Panarin played for SKA St. Petersburg, one of the most popular teams in the KHL. Hockey writers and analysts generally consider the KHL the second-best league in the world behind the NHL. About two seasons ago, Panarin began flashing on the Hawks’ radar, general manager Stan Bowman said, but an injury prevented Panarin from participating in the world championships, during which NHL scouts keep a close eye on international players. Last season, however, Panarin shined in leading SKA St. Petersburg to the Gagarin Cup, the KHL championship, then scored 10 points in 10 games during the world championships. “We watched him early in the year and it was obvious he was a good talent and as the year went on, he became better and better,” Bowman said. “He continued to be a dominant player.”
Panarin’s agent, Tom Lynn, said he received interest from approximately 24 NHL teams for Panarin, with “seven or eight” pushing hard to sign him. But the Hawks had an in with SKA St. Petersburg.
Barry Smith, the Hawks’ director of player personnel, had served as head coach of SKA St. Petersburg and was instrumental in scouting and persuading Panarin to sign with the Hawks, Bowman said. The Hawks also traded for center Artem Anisimov in the offseason, so when Panarin came to the US, he would at least have two countrymen to help him in the transition.