Spokane Chiefs sign Russian Matvei Startsev to standard player agreement

The Spokane Chiefs announced Friday the signing of Russian defenseman Matvei Startsev to a Western Hockey League Standard Player Agreement.

Startsev, a 2002-born rearguard, posted nine points (three goals, six assists) in 13 games while wearing an “A” as an alternate captain with Mosvka Russia of the Russian U18 league last season. He competed in nine playoff games, recording 8 penalty minutes. He also played 25 games with the same club’s U17 team, tacking on four goals and eight assists.

He was the Chiefs’ second-round (103rd overall) pick in the 2019 Canadian Hockey League Import Draft.

Startsev joins Czech defenseman Filip Kral (1999) and Czech goalie Lukas Parik (2001) as potential import players for the 2019-20 season. League rules allow a maximum of two.

“We’d like to officially welcome Matvei to the … organization,” Chiefs general manager Scott Carter said. “We look forward to seeing him on the ice in August.”