Blue Jackets loan Nikita Filatov to CSKA of KHL for remainder of season

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Columbus Blue Jackets have loaned promising forward Nikita Filatov to CSKA of the Kontinental Hockey League for the remainder of the 2009-10 season.

General manager Scott Howson announced the move Tuesday. He said it was made so Filatov could develop his game in his hometown of Moscow.

Filatov has been unhappy with his spare minutes since making the club to start the season. He appeared in 13 games with the Blue Jackets this season, scoring two goals. He has six goals in 21 NHL games over the past two seasons.

The 19-year-old was Columbus' first pick - and the sixth overall - in the 2008 draft. He had split the 2007-08 season between CSKA's junior and Super League teams.