Vegas Golden Knights Place 22 Year Old Second Round Pick on Waivers
The Vegas Golden Knights have a very solid prospect pool, but now they've shocked the NHL by placing Daniil Chayka, a former second-round pick on waivers.
Despite being overlooked coming into the 2024/25 campaign, the Vegas Golden Knights are once again rolling atop the Pacific Division, and with a deep prospect pool, the present and the future remain very bright.
However, the team made quite the surprising move on Monday, as they have now officially placed 22-year old Daniil Chayka on waivers, just a few years after spending quite a high draft pick on him.
In the OHL with the Guelph Storm, the Russian born blue liner thrived, enough so that the Golden Knights used the No. 38 overall pick on him in the 2021 NHL Draft with visions of being a key piece of their defensive core for years to come.
While the size (6-foot-3, 204 pounds) and the production are there, Chayka has struggled thus far to adapt to the professional level, with his first two full seasons in the AHL resulting in just three goals, 15 points and a -48 differential.
That led to his demotion to the ECHL's Tahoe Knight Monsters earlier this season, with fears that the team could move on from him at any point after struggling to find his footing with the Henderson Silver Knights.
Now, that time has come as the team are looking to prioritize other defensive prospects moving forward, but at 22-years of age, this move could be judged as the team lacking the patience needed to develop a young player with plenty of potential.
We will wait and see now if another team takes a shot on Chayka, who was highly thought of ahead of the 2021 NHL Draft, because if he gets the development needed, there's still optimism that he can play a good role in the NHL one day if given the opportunity.
