Kotkov has finally arrived in Saint John

The Saint John Sea Dogs got a huge offensive boost this week.

Russian forward Vladislav Kotkov has made his way to Saint John where he'll join the Sea Dogs following a 14-day isolation period. The arrival ends several months of uncertainty surrounding border and travel restrictions.

“Our top priority during this process was ensuring we were following all federal, provincial and league protocols,” Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said in a news release. “We look forward to meeting Vladislav following his 14-day isolation.”

Kotkov joins the Sea Dogs after taking part in San Jose Barracuda training camp where he appeared in a few AHL pre-season games. The San Jose Sharks prospect played in one AHL regular season game in 2018-19 where he scored a goal.

The recently-turned-21-year-old has spent the past three seasons in Chicoutimi where he's recorded 77 goals and 79 assists in 177 QMJHL games. Last season, Kotkov registered 22 goals and 24 assists in 51 games.

He'll be a big boost for a Saint John team that has some promising offensive players but are still fairly inexperienced.

“Kotkov is an elite goal scoring forward with NHL camp experience,” said Georgie. “He brings size and skill to our lineup and will slot in well with our young core of talented forwards. It’s been a long road to get Vladislav here in Saint John and we’re excited for his debut.”

The Sea Dogs acquired Kotkov on Aug. 29 in exchange for a couple draft picks. He'll join forward Liam Leonard and goaltender Zachary Emond - who is also a San Jose prospect - as the team's overagers.

Saint John's lineup could look quite a bit a different the next time they play a game thanks to the recent additions of Kotkov, Emond, Ryan Francis and the signing of others. It's unclear at this time when that next game will be.