Pavel Bure: Blackhawks rookie Artemi Panarin ‘reminds me of myself'

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Not many people knew who Artemi Panarin was when he first signed with the Blackhawks out of the KHL, but that has quickly changed.

The 24-year-old Russian leads all rookies with 23 points, and (as of Thursday) is the second-highest scorer on his team.

He's already turning heads in the NHL, and even caught the attention of Hall of Famer and fellow countryman Pavel Bure.

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"Panarin reminds me of myself with his size and speed," Bure told NHL.com. "He managed to seamlessly integrate into a team that won the Stanley Cup only a few months ago. And not only that, Panarin currently ranks second in scoring on the Blackhawks behind Patrick Kane.

"He has everything to become a star in this league."

High praise coming from a two-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner and a seven-time All-Star. But it's also not too surprising, considering Panarin's immediate impact in the first two months of the season.

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