Maple Leafs prospect reveals why he returned to Russia

The Toronto Maple Leafs are short one key prospect within their organization, as Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, whom now-former general manager Kyle Dubas drafted in the 2018 NHL Draft with the 76th overall selection, has elected to return home to Russia. He's signed a deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL, and his deal is worth 45 million rubles per season, which is the equivalent of just over $502,000. 

And now, he's telling his side of the story as to why he decided to return home and says that it's still his goal to one day play in the NHL, though he feels he currently has more of an opportunity to play in the KHL. 

The translated Russian-to-English interview's transcript is as follows: 

Q: "Toronto made you a qualifying offer and retained the rights. Do you agree that another year in the AHL wouldn't do you any good?"

A: "Hard to tell. Of course, I want to play for Toronto. My dream is to play in the NHL. I hope that in two years I will be able to try my hand overseas again. It is unlikely that I would have made it to the main squad of the Maple Leafs. So now it's better for me to play in the KHL."

Q: "Didn't you feel like you outgrew the AHL?"

A: "Yes, you are right, most likely, another year in the AHL would not do me any good. Even if next season I played for Toronto not one match, but 10-15, it would be impossible to say that I was fixed in the squad. At this stage, it was better for me to return to Russia and play two years in a good league. Now let's see what happens from this." 

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