Svechnikov, Gilbert have much in common

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.
This week, Stan compares Hockey Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert, the right wing on the New York Rangers' "GAG Line," with rising star Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes. Gilbert spent his entire career with the Rangers; Svechnikov will be entering his third full NHL season with the Hurricanes.

They were born half a world away from each other and played decades apart.
Yet
Rod Gilbert
from Montreal and Andrei Svechnikov from Barnaul, Russia, have much in common.
Each was a teenage sensation; Gilbert with Guelph of the Ontario Hockey Association and Svechnikov for Russia's Under-18 team. Neither could speak English when he left home to begin his hockey career. Likewise, each had rave notices when he entered the NHL -- Gilbert with the New York Rangers and Svechnikov with the Carolina Hurricanes. Gilbert went on to earn induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame; Svechnikov's career is off to a solid start.
The Hurricanes selected Svechnikov with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft after he was discovered as a 16-year-old skating for Russia in international tournaments.
Ex-NHL goalie
John Vanbiesbrouck
, then general manager of Muskegon in the United States Hockey League, convinced him that the state of Michigan would be a good place to start a North American career. The big lure was that Andrei's older brother,
Evgeny Svechnikov
, had been a first-round pick (No. 19) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2015 NHL Draft and would be skating for Grand Rapids, their American Hockey League affiliate.
"Muskegon is not that far from Grand Rapids," Vanbiesbrouck said, "so it made it easier for Andrei to have his big brother nearby."
Gilbert's ascent to the NHL also began during his mid-teens, when he was succeeding in games against bigger, older players.
"The fact that I could adjust to playing with men much older than me when I was only 14 convinced me that I was on the right track in pursuing a hockey career," he recalled.
But where? Yvon Prud'Homme, a part-time Rangers scout, suggested that he audition with Guelph of the OHA, which had developed several future NHL stars.
"I knew guys like
Andy Bathgate
,
Dean Prentice
and
Harry Howell
had made it from Guelph to the Rangers," Gilbert said, "so I figured it would be worth a try for me to go there."
When the Montreal Canadiens learned that the Rangers were interested in Gilbert, they dispatched an emissary to his household urging him to remain in his hometown. But Prud'Homme prevailed and Rod left for Guelph, though he admittedly was nervous about his language deficiency.
"I couldn't speak a word of English," he remembered, "but Guelph] promised to make it easy for me and they did. I was boarded with a friendly family, and they taught me to speak English."
When Svechnikov arrived in Muskegon, Evgeny was nearby to help with his younger brother's adjustment. Elena Svechnikov, their mother, also moved in with her younger son to help him feel at home.
"My mom made sure I still ate Russian food -- no fast food," Andrei said. "Every day she cooked for me; mostly soup and potatoes. I still had to get used to my new life because everything else was different. I found the hockey style different from what I was used to in Russia. It's more physical and the ice surface is smaller. But after the first couple of months I felt great."
Ditto for Gilbert, who made the team at age 16 and impressed his coach, ex-NHL player Eddie Bush.
"Bush taught me a good lesson: If you want to be successful you have to make sacrifices. You have to work hard," Gilbert said. "There's no easy way; not in sports, not in business and not in school."
Svechnikov fit in well, winning the USHL rookie of the year award before leaving to play for Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League, where he scored 40 goals in 44 games.
Gilbert's NHL hopes were nearly ended in 1960, when he sustained a serious back injury after tripping over a cardboard lid from an ice cream container during a game. He recovered and in the spring of 1962 was summoned to the Rangers for their Stanley Cup Semifinal series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After Toronto won the first two games at home, player-coach
[Doug Harvey
put the 20-year-old on a line with center
Johnny Wilson
and left wing
Dave Balon
for Game 3. Gilbert scored two goals against future Hall of Famer
Johnny Bower
to help New York win Game 3 and had an assist in a Game 4 victory. The Rangers lost the next two games and the series, but Gilbert had proved he was ready for the NHL.
Svechnikov scored his first NHL goal in his third game, an 8-5 win against the Rangers on Oct. 7, 2018, and finished his first season with 37 points (20 goals, 17 assists) -- enough to convince Carolina GM Don Waddell that he'd made the right pick.
There would be no sophomore slump. On Oct. 29, 2019, Svechnikov became the first NHL player to score a lacrosse-style goal; it came in a 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames. He did it again on Dec. 17 in a 6-3 road win against the Winnipeg Jets.
"His talent was always there," coach Rod Brind'Amour said, "and now the confidence is there. That's huge for a kid his age to know that he can make such plays."
Gilbert's best season came in 1971-72, when he scored 43 goals and 97 points, becoming an NHL First-Team All-Star. He retired in November 1977 with 1,021 points (406 goals, 615 assists) in 1,065 NHL games; both totals remain team records.
At age 20, Svechnikov showed he has the talent to excel in the NHL. He finished his second season with 61 points (24 goals, 37 assists) in 68 games, then had a hat trick against the Rangers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, helping the Hurricanes sweep the best-of-5 series.
It's not a stretch to say that Svechnikov's play is reminiscent of Gilbert in his Rangers prime.