Two more locked-out NHLers made the jump overseas on Friday as the KHL announced the signings of Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (SKA St. Petersburg) and Flames defenseman Anton Babchuk (Donbass).
Bobrovsky started his career in Russia, with Metallurg Novokuznetsk, before joining the Flyers organization in 2010. He’s SKA’s second NHL signing of the lockout -- New Jersey’s Ilya Kovalchuk was the first -- and the St. Petersburg club is expected to fill its third and final spot with St. Louis prospect Vladimir Tarasenko.
Where Bobrovsky fits remains to be seen. He told reporters he had no idea how much playing time he’d get on a SKA team with three goalies already in the mix. The 23-year-old has 90 NHL games to his credit and will be vying for the Blue Jackets’ No. 1 gig when (or, if) the season gets underway.
As for Babchuk, he’ll be joining the KHL’s lone Ukrainian team.
Donbass had already filled two of its transfer spots by agreeing to terms with Flyers forward Ruslan Fedotenko and Jets winger Alexei Ponikarovsky, adding to a lineup that featured a number of ex-NHLers (Oskars Bartulis, Evgeni Dadonov, Erik Ersberg, Lukas Kaspar, Vaclav Nederost and Karel Pilar.)