From Paddock's comments on the website it sounds very promising that we will be seeing him at training camp.
“This is a rarity for the import draft in that our scouts had an opportunity to see Nikolai multiple times throughout the season,” said Regina Pats Head Coach and GM John Paddock. “We know he wants to come play junior hockey in Canada so it made the pick much easier. We look forward to seeing him in Regina for training camp in August.”
It sounds like Knyzhov will be here in the fall and yes it does create a log jam on our defense which will be pretty deep especially if Williams is back (which I fully expect) but with that said it opens up a trade where we can fill in a weakness. If Schioler does commit and does play with us this season and beyond our defense has never looked bigger or more promising during my entire 30yrs as a fan of the Pats. Throw in Pouteau along with Knyzhov & Schioler our depth in the '98 age group on defense is just as deep if not deeper then the '97 age group on defense. I am a firm believer you can never have enough depth on defense and Paddock is pushing that to its limits.