Prospect Info: #110 LD Daniil Orlov, Sakhalinskiye MHL

[StevenToddIves]

LD Daniil Orlov, Sakhalinskiye MHL (STI Ranking #94, McKenzie: Not Ranked)
The best place to find under-the-radar defenders -- both this year and pretty much for the past half-decade -- has been in the MHL. 2022 is no different, with myriad great prospects who could be available even later in the draft than usual, due to the New Russian Factor and the difficulty of scouting the league this year.

In Orlov, you have everything you want for a future potential bottom-4 stalwart. He's a projectable 6'2-180 and is an elite skater. While many 6'0+ defenders his age have a very difficult time defending against speed, with Orlov this is not a problem. Orlov is silky on his skates, gliding up and down the ice and able to quickly maneuver with strong 4-way mobility.

Defense is the hallmark of Orlov's game. He's strong pretty much in all facets of his defensive game: one-on-one, gaps, positioning, stick activity, anticipation, you name it. I really don't see a weakness which would inhibit his ability to transition to the NHL, and when that is combined with his size and mobility you have an extremely high-floor defenseman, especially considering his likely draft position as late as the 4th/5th rounds.

Offensively and with the puck, Orlov is an A-B-C defenseman: protect against offense, attain the puck, release the puck. He's not creative or flashy, but with his simple style of play, it is very effective. If Orlov does not immediately see a safe pass on the outlet, he'll chip the puck up the boards. If Orlov does not see a clear entry, he'll dump in. In the offensive zone, he's an efficient enough passer to find the open man and hit them, but his overwhelming preference is to just fire the puck. Orlov's greatest singular skill is certainly his shot -- it's a real bomb from the point. I'd say he has double-digit goal potential at the NHL level, though I don't foresee him ever becoming a 40+ point guy due to the simplicity of his game.

There's nothing not to like here. Orlov is a strong defender who can positively affect your team in all three zones without blowing the doors off in terms of offensive danger. He'll be a high value pick anywhere after the mid-3rd round. This is a very good hockey player.

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[Forge]

I believe he's under contract in Russia for one more year? I'd guess even if we wanted to bring him over to get more hands on development for him, we'll probably leave him alone 3-4 years just see if the global climate and situation changes at all. Stash him somewhere in the back of your mind and hope for the best lol

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

 

[Triumph]

How the hell did they see this kid, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is in Eastern Russia, probably closer to Alaska than Moscow.

 

[Traitor Zach]

How the hell did they see this kid, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is in Eastern Russia, probably closer to Alaska than Moscow.

I think Devils had a scout handling Russia. I'm wondering if it was the same guy responsible for Mukh.

 

[RememberTheName]

I'd like to see what this kid can do on a good team. By all accounts he was the only player who could do anything on his team this year. His team was abysmal, going 14-2-4-44. Really tough to do much of anything on a team like that, but I guess he still showed some really nice promise through all that.

 

[RyGuy]

How the hell did they see this kid, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is in Eastern Russia, probably closer to Alaska than Moscow.

Hes literally almost Japanese.

 

[None Shall Pass]

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Hes literally almost Japanese.

Holy shit you guys aren't kidding. From Google Maps:

 

[OmNomNom]

How the hell did they see this kid, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is in Eastern Russia, probably closer to Alaska than Moscow.

sarah palin's house

 

[DVision44]

How the hell did they see this kid, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is in Eastern Russia, probably closer to Alaska than Moscow.

Your geographical knowledge is impressive.

 

[The Wumpus]

That's almost precisely halfway between Moscow and Los Angeles. Amazing that we took a guy from there and also Miami.

 

[My3Sons]

This was another seemingly very good value pick for NJ. This draft may have started off a bit polarizing, but in comparison to the last couple of years, the lower round picks all show excellent promise which is all you can ask of them. I could easily see NJ hit on the goalie and one of the defenders from the back end of this draft. That would be a fantastic result assuming either of Casey or Nemec pan out.

 

[forceten]

If you ask the Japanese, these islands ARE Japanese

 

[Its Always Sundstrom]

If you ask the Japanese, these islands ARE Japanese

Next we take Manchuria!

I just like his name. Hope he gets a cool number one day.

 

[oxman44]

Like it, pretty big kid, can skate the lights out and shows some decent puck skills. cant go wrong with guys like this in my mind.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

lol see ya never kid

 

[Triumph]

lol see ya never kid

meh, 4 years is the right time. Ideally you'd have these guys coming over at 20 but that's just not the way it's often done.

 

[SoundAndFury]

How the hell did they see this kid, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is in Eastern Russia, probably closer to Alaska than Moscow.

They play half of the games away you know. Including quite a few IN Moscow so the Alaska thing is not that relevant.

 

[My3Sons]

I’m sure he gets paid more to play in the KHL than the AHL. At 22 he will still have an NHL opportunity

 

[Triumph]

I’m sure he gets paid more to play in the KHL than the AHL. At 22 he will still have an NHL opportunity

I don't think this is true, but when adjusted for cost of living, it might be. AHL players on ELCs usually make a minimum of $100,000, and it's not subject to escrow. 5th round pick Topias Vilen will make $172,000 per year on his ELC even if he never plays an NHL game on it. Given that Orlov's contract is reported as two-way, I'd expect he will make nothing close to this amount if he's in the MHL/VHL, but I can't say I know for sure.

 

[My3Sons]

I don't think this is true, but when adjusted for cost of living, it might be. AHL players on ELCs usually make a minimum of $100,000, and it's not subject to escrow. 5th round pick Topias Vilen will make $172,000 per year on his ELC even if he never plays an NHL game on it.

You don’t think KHL guys get more than that? I don’t claim to know but if KHL guys only made AHL salaries I wouldn’t think leaving the NHL to go play in the KHL would be much of a threat.

 

[Triumph]

You don’t think KHL guys get more than that? I don’t claim to know but if KHL guys only made AHL salaries I wouldn’t think leaving the NHL to go play in the KHL would be much of a threat.

I think KHL stars make big money, but I think it takes a while to get to that point - I assume that KHL rookies make comparatively very little. I guess if you're also implying that why do NHL teams traditionally have so much trouble getting Russians from the KHL to play in the AHL, it must be money-related - if they were doubling their salaries relative to cost of living, they'd happily come over, and maybe there's some truth to that too.

The KHL salary cap is supposedly set at ~13.8 million dollars for this coming season, apparently there's some ability for top teams to evade this, and young players also apparently don't count, but it was not like before where ex-NHLers just didn't count. Even before the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, the KHL really was not poaching many or any NHLers - the days of Radulov and Kovalchuk were over, the $1M salary for Anssi Salmela wasn't happening.

 

[My3Sons]

I think KHL stars make big money, but I think it takes a while to get to that point - I assume that KHL rookies make comparatively very little. I guess if you're also implying that why do NHL teams traditionally have so much trouble getting Russians from the KHL to play in the AHL, it must be money-related - if they were doubling their salaries relative to cost of living, they'd happily come over, and maybe there's some truth to that too.

The KHL salary cap is supposedly set at ~13.8 million dollars for this coming season, apparently there's some ability for top teams to evade this, and young players also apparently don't count, but it was not like before where ex-NHLers just didn't count. Even before the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, the KHL really was not poaching many or any NHLers - the days of Radulov and Kovalchuk were over, the $1M salary for Anssi Salmela wasn't happening.

I can understand a kid staying home in Russia if thr money is at all close. But you see some young players getting little ice time in the KHL and you wonder why they wouldn’t want to take a regular shift in the AHL instead? Bardakhov (spelling?) comes to mind.

 

[Guadana]

lol see ya never kid

It`s a great news. Its not three way contract. He will play in adult league right into the next year.

 

[Guadana]

I can understand a kid staying home in Russia if thr money is at all close. But you see some young players getting little ice time in the KHL and you wonder why they wouldn’t want to take a regular shift in the AHL instead? Bardakhov (spelling?) comes to mind.

Because now he signed better deal in KHL than he could have in AHL. For his development is much better to play 19 min against CSKA in western conference finals. And if he build some fundament in KHL, after he can go try himself in USA, and if he isnt succesfull, he can come back and get good money. It`s a safier way and it`s often much better for their development. Ice hockey life is short, they should think twice what kind of opportunity is better for them. Even top talents prefer to build their career through the KHL systems. And yeah, Life in Russia is much cheaper.