One of many Edmonton Oilers that are heading to play in Europe and Russia ahead of the next NHL season is defenceman Dmitri Samorukov.

Dressing for CSKA Moscow, the club had their first game of the season today and on Samorukov scored a mere 51 seconds into the game on a beautiful play.

Not only that, but the goal was a Opening Cup record for the fastest to open a game in league history.

Samorukov was patrolling the blueline when teammate (and Oilers property) Anton Slepyshev circled the opposing net before making a pass back to the point.

Samorukov stepped into the 129 km/h shot and blasted it home.

It’s a great start to what should be a good year for Samorukov. While CSKA lost 3-2 in overtime, Samorukov and Slepyshev both had solid games.

After assisting on Samorukov’s opening goal, Slepyshev broke open the scoring in the third period to give CSKA a late lead. He had a penalty shot late in the third, too, but his backhand attempt just went wide.

For Samorukov, it’s his second pro season after spending last year in Bakersfield. There, he scored 10 points in 47 games.

We’ll be keeping an eye on both of their seasons closely.

On Twitter: @zjlaing