Ever since he started playing hockey at the age of just four and a half years old in Minsk, Belarus, Yegor Sharangovich had a dream of one day playing professional hockey.  His parents signed him up for a local ‘SDUSHOR’ hockey school, where he played with and against kids at least a year older than him and developed under coaches who focused on skating, as well as technique, skill, and awareness to his game.  Now playing in his second season with the Binghamton Devils of the American Hockey League (AHL), Sharangovich is on the NHL’s doorstep and hoping to crack the New Jersey Devils lineup in the not too distant future.

His Junior career kickstarted when Sharangovich was just 15 years old, playing for Raubichi- 98 in the Russian Junior Hockey League (MHL). Even though the season did not go according to plan for the team which finished last place in the league, Sharangovich called this experience crucial to his development. “I was playing against players who were four to five years older than me.  Watching the older guys and how they played taught me a lot of valuable lessons though and made me learn a lot about professional hockey and what it takes to be successful.”

Sharangovich built upon that experience and spent the following season in the Belarusian Extraleague with the Belarus Under 20 team.  Again, playing against adults, he managed 15 goals and 13 assists in 38 games. That same year, he was invited to represent Belarus at the International level twice, once at the World Junior Championships and again at the World Hockey Championships.  The World Junior Championship tournament was especially memorable for hockey in Belarus, as based on its success the National team got promoted to the top junior division for the first time in the country’s history.

However, following the World Championships, Sharangovich had some tough career decisions to make, specifically choosing between going overseas to play in the USHL for the Youngstown Phantoms, who selected him in the 2017 USHL Draft, or stay back home and play for Dynamo Minsk, his hometown KHL team.

“I consulted with my family, as well as Belarussian NHL players, such as Mikhail Grabovski and Andrei Kostitsyn to help guide me in the right direction,” said Sharangovich. “Ultimately, after playing against adults during the World Championship and in the Extraleague, I decided it would be beneficial to my development to stay home and play in the KHL at least for another season.”

Sharangovich talked to the Dynamo Minsk’s management staff prior to this decision and was promised to get playing time and opportunities with the club during the 2017-18 season. His decision paid off.  After recording 12 points in 47 games with Dynamo, Sharangovich declared himself eligible for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Sharangovich expected to be selected somewhere between the third and seventh round of the draft, and anxiously awaited his name to be called, watching on TV at home in Belarus. “I started watching the draft in the fourth round and saw that my name had been called during a commercial break. As soon as I saw my name on TV, I immediately called my parents to share the moment with them. I experienced emotions that I will never forget.”

Throughout NHL history, only 12 players from Belarus have ever played in the league. The last player being Mikhail Grabovski, who played 534 NHL games and retired in 2016.

Following the draft, Sharangovich signed a three-year NHL entry level contract with New Jersey. Upon joining the Devils for Training Camp, he said the other Devils players and prospects treated him very well, the organization was very welcoming, and they even hired an English tutor that would help him with his English twice a week.

When asked about the biggest difficulty in transitioning from European to North American hockey, he noted the speed of the game as well as the increased physical play were the major aspects to get accustomed to. “Sometimes you only have a couple of seconds to make a decision on the ice, so quick and smart thinking is a must on every shift.  Outside of that change, learning a different language and living away from home was another thing that required adjustment.”

What made the transition easier though was having a fellow Russian teammate, Kiril Maltsev, who was born in Moscow. Currently, Sharangovich is only one of three AHL players from Belarus.  The others being Maksim Sushko and goaltender Kirill Ustimenko, who both play for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Sharangovich has been really pleased with the city of Binghamton, and even though the town is relatively small, there are less distractions which allows himself to focus on his on-ice and off-ice development.  “I currently live with my teammate Marian Studenic who is from Holic,  Slovakia.  We understand each other pretty well even though Marian speaks Slovak.  My English is improving though.”

His lifestyle in Binghamton is plain and simple, especially around practices, games, and road trips.  “Usually we just make good quality food, watch some movies, play some Counter Strike on PC and try to catch every New Jersey Devils game that we can”, he said.  “Outside of that, I call my family back In Minsk almost every day, which can be challenging at times due to an eight-hour time zone difference.”

During the AHL All-Star break, Sharangovich enjoyed some down time in Miami, Florida.  This past off-season, he travelled to New York City for the first time, where he visited the Russian- speaking area of Brighton Beach and went to a traditional Russian sauna, which reminded him of back home.”  

Sharangovich follows the NHL pretty close, and despite holding a more defensive role with the Binghamton Devils, he keeps a particular keen eye on Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. “He’s a one-of-a kind player with exceptional physical, offensive talents, as well as an unstoppable shot.”

Currently, Sharangovich is seeing a lot of playing time on the penalty kill.  Some analysts describe his playing style as being similar to Artem Anisimov of the Ottawa Senators.  At 6’2 and weighing 196 pounds the centerman is strong on the puck and possesses good awareness at both ends of the ice. When asked about his on-ice game, he admits that he plays a big defensive role with the Binghamton Devils. “But in the future, I hope to have a more offensive role on the team and add more to the scoresheet.  In 53 games so far this season, Sharangovich has 7 goals and 13 assists, and is +6.  His offensive talent and skill were however on display  when he scored a Nikita Kucherov style goal on a game winning penalty shot against Syracuse on January 24^th, 2020.

Egor Sharangovich shootout game winning goal! #WeAreGoldStar! pic.twitter.com/o9OWhfWibO

— Gold Star Hockey (@GoldStarHockey) January 25, 2020

The Binghamton Devils have been playing some good hockey as of late and are making significant strides towards a berth in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017 when the franchise was based in Albany.  “I’m a very competitive hockey player, and happy to be playing well and part of our team’s success.  I will do whatever it takes to help the team succeed.”

Overall, Sharangovich is happy to be where he is in Binghamton and seeing his game develop right in front of him. Moving to a new country, away from family, with a different language, and with a different playing style of hockey would be tough for any hockey player, so Yegor has offered to keep in touch with other Belarussian players in North America, to help aid in their transition.

Ultimately, his dream now is to not only make the NHL, but to become a quality two-way player for the New Jersey Devils, a statement that further demonstrates his maturity that he started fostering at a young age.