Future NHL stars are developing in the Canadian Hockey League this season. Each week, NHL.com will highlight a few of the top NHL-affiliated prospects in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League.
Andrei Loshko has had the kind of offensive production this season that opens eyes at the next level.
But the Seattle Kraken forward prospect knows he won't be able to score his way into the NHL. It's his two-way ability and attention to detail in all three zones that could earn the 19-year-old a shot at the next level as soon as next season.
"I think I'm improving every zone in my game," Loshko said. "I want to be very strong defensively because I'm a center and a two-way forward."
Loshko has 54 points (23 goals, 31 assists) in 51 games with Rouyn-Noranda this season, including a hat trick and two assists in a 11-0 win against Acadie-Bathurst on Feb. 8, and he had 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) during a 13-game point streak from Dec. 3-Jan. 9, the longest by Rouyn-Noranda player since 2018-19 (Peter Abbandonato, 14).
But it's the other parts of Loshko's game that have impressed the Kraken.
"He's a really exciting prospect," Seattle director of player development Jeff Tambellini said. "There's so many subtle things that Andrei does well that I believe fly under the radar. He's a talented scorer, but his defensive game, his 200-foot game, is really impressive for a young player. We've been thrilled with his progress this year.
"'Losh' is one of our top two-way guys. We love his size (6-foot-1, 173 pounds) but we love his 200-foot game. Not many players understand the game on both sides of the puck and he takes a ton of pride in it."
Loshko, selected by the Kraken in the fourth round (No. 116) of the 2023 NHL Draft, takes a simple approach for why he puts so much effort into playing as hard on both sides of the puck.
"If you play less in the defensive zone you get to play more in the offensive end," he said, "and everyone wants that."