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Former NHL 20-Goal Scorer Daniel Sprong Hits a New Career Low: Leaves North America

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 1:22 PM ET

Daniel Sprong was once a promising player at the NHL level, but now his career has hit a new low as he is reportedly set to join the KHL this coming season.

Daniel Sprong was drafted in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft, and while he's shown great potential throughout his career, he's yet to find his role at the top level.

Most recently, the 28-year old spent 21 games between Seattle and New Jersey this past season, but with just 1 goal and 4 points in that time, many believed that his NHL career was close to coming to an end.

Now, we may have further confirmation of that, as it was revealed on Tuesday that Sprong is set to head overseas to join the KHL, with reports that he's joining CSKA Moscow for the upcoming 2025/26 season.

Unfortunately for Sprong, he's just not been able to find his consistency in the NHL, tallying just 87 goals and 166 points in 374 NHL games played thus far, changing teams seven times since 2017/18, with many seeing this move overseas as a long time coming.

At 28-years of age, there's still time for Sprong to find his footing and make his way back to the NHL, but with more and more young talent joining the league every year, things certainly aren't looking good for that prospect.

Ultimately, Sprong was once a very promising second-round pick, and while he's not been a bad NHLer by any stretch, teams can get his level of production at a younger and cheaper rate in 2025/26, so if he wants to make it back to the NHL, he'll need to dominate in the KHL moving forward.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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