Kniazev was a key player in Chicoutimi’s rebuilding year. The Saguenéens had a strong core of 16-year-old and 17-year-old players on their team. Kniazev came over from Russia after the Saguenéens drafted him this past June in the CHL Import Draft with the 9th overall pick.
An above-average skater, the young Russian defenseman likes to carry the puck from his own zone. Chicoutimi was a great place to play for him, as they play on a wider ice surface there. He likes to take advantage of the additional space on the ice that’s available to him by rushing the puck as often as he can. He scored 10 of his 13 goals on home ice this season. He’s quick to get the puck out of his zone, either by using his feet or making a quick passes in transition. His decision-making is quick; he has a good first pass out of his zone and he’s very helpful for his team’s transition game.
Offensively, he creates a lot of plays with his skating abilities. He’s quite active in the offensive zone, trying to create scoring chances for himself or a teammate. He scored 7 of his 13 goals on the power play this season. What he lacks in order to be considered a premiere offensive defenseman is that great on-ice vision, as his is only average. We would like to see him create more plays with his passing plays and vision. He’s capable of making some high-end passing plays, but there’s some inconsistency with him there. He’s got a good wrist shot with good velocity and accuracy. He prefers using his wrist shot over his slapper, as there is a lot more accuracy and velocity with his wrist shot. He can contribute offensively, as shown with his 13 goals, but for an offensive defenseman in the QMJHL, his assist and point totals are a bit low (21 assists and 34 points). Defensively, he made some good strides this year. He looked a bit like a liability at the beginning of the season, but the more the season progressed, the more he was confident as a defender. He uses his good footwork well to retrieve pucks in his zone and he’s quick to apply pressure on the puck-carrier entering his zone.
Even if he’s not big, he competes well along the boards and is unafraid. He won’t ever be known as a physical defenseman, but at least he competes well along the boards and can dish out some hits here and there. His one-on-one defensive coverage has gotten better over the course of the season. He just needs to get stronger physically so that he can compete better versus bigger and stronger players along the boards and in front of the net. Kniazev has a lot of good things going for him, including good offensive potential and the fact that he is pretty mobile on the ice. Starting next season, he should be one of the top offensive defensemen in the QMJHL, playing on a good, young and talented team in Chicoutimi.
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