Vitali Yachmenev put up more than 200 points and helped the North Bay Centennials capture an OHL championship when he played junior hockey in the area.
Those are pretty big shoes to fill for his 17-year-old son Tomas Yachmenev.
The crafty forward will be playing his first season of hockey in Canada this fall with the Voodoos after spending all his minor hockey years playing in Chelyabinsk, Russia, where his dad Vitali is now a coach for the local KHL team.
“My dad had two very successful seasons with the North Bay Centennials, winning rookie of the year after his first season, before playing in the NHL,” said the soft spoken Widdifield Senior Secondary student.
“I am very proud of him and thankful for helping me improve as a player on and off the ice,” he said about his dads NHL career where he appeared in 487 games, tallying 83 goals and 133 assists.
Voodoos GM Chris Dawson sees a little bit of Vitali in Tomas’ game.
“He is very gifted offensively,” noted Dawson.
“He sees the ice very well and he has a lethal shot.”
Yachmenev played for the high profile Traktor Chelyabinsk Under 17 team, the same team Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov played midget for seven years ago.
However, the process for Tomas - who has a Canadian passport - to join the Voodoos was a long one as the team and the family waited patiently for his International Ice Hockey Federation transfer to be approved by the Russian Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada.
“I would like to thank the Powassan Voodoos organization for giving me this opportunity to play junior hockey for such a strong team in a nice town with a great fan base. I am very happy and looking forward to starting the season as a ‘Voodoo’ and hopefully help them win back to back championships,” said Yachmenev.
Vitali Yachmenev, still owns a home here in North Bay where Tomas will stay with his mom Tina this season.
Yachmenev and the Voodoos hit the ice for their home opener on Friday night at the Sportsplex where the defending champions will also raise their first championship banner.
