Golden Knights Forward Silently Reaching 30-Goal Mark

Pavel Dorofeyev of the Vegas Golden Knights is quietly putting together one of the most overlooked 30-goal seasons in the league. The 24-year-old Russian winger recorded a hat trick in a 5-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, bringing his total to 30 goals—ranking him 17th among league leaders. Despite his impressive performance, he remains under the radar.

Whether it’s because he plays on the West Coast, where many East Coast fans miss his games, or simply because he hasn’t become a household name yet, Dorofeyev deserves far more recognition.

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Dorofeyev Has Been Underrated for Quite Awhile

Dorofeyev has only been in the league full-time for two seasons. The former 2019 third-round draft pick made his NHL debut in the 2021-22 season, playing two games. He saw more ice time the next season, recording nine points—seven of which were goals—in 18 games. In 47 games the following season, Dorofeyev nearly tripled his point totals, putting up 24 points in 47 games. This season, he has 46 points (30g, 16a) in 68 games.

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He can be compared a lot to Seattle Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen. Both players took time for development with overarching expectations. However, once they were able to find their place in the league, they became strong top-six scorers for their respective clubs. In Dorofeyev’s case, he was drafted later than Tolvanen but was still given high expectations. He played extremely well in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights, recording 52 points (27g, 25a) in the 2021-21 season.

He Is Extremely Reliable at Any Given Moment

Even though he plays on the second line with Brandon Saad and Tomas Hertl, he is the team’s leading goal scorer. He is also the top performer on the man-advantage, with 12 of his 30 goals coming from the power play. In total, Dorofeyev has recorded 16 power-play points on the team’s first power-play unit.

He can also be extremely clutch when needed. Dorofeyev has recorded five team-leading game-winning goals. With an average of 16 minutes of ice time per game, he puts his heart and soul into every shift. He has a 14.6 shooting percentage and is among some of the most accurate shooters this season. Despite this, Dorofeyev remains one of the most underrated players this season.

Why Isn’t He Getting Any Attention?

Considering that the majority of the league’s teams are on the eastern side of North America, most fans won’t stay up to watch West Coast teams like Vegas. This is seen with other players like Quinton Byfield and Macklin Celebrini. If Dorofeyev were situated on an eastern conference team, then he would see more spotlight from fans all over.

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