2020 NHL Draft: Top 70 Russian Prospects (pre-draft update added)

[Caser]

I wouldn't doubt yourself on him. I've seen quite a few people that I like have him just as high as you. Just odd seeing someone so low on him that focuses a lot on those leagues.

There's nothing wrong with doubts, but I had an impression that he is active on the forecheck, isn't useless in the D zone and is noticeable in the big games. Add to that just some interesting numbers: he led the Tolpar team's forwards in hits (56 hits in 37 games). Maybe he isn't very effective in battles, but I'd blame the size more here than competitiveness.

Great insights as always Caser. I'm right there with you with Pashin. I think he's really intriguing, and someone I would reach for.

Is it weird that I really really like some guys super low on your list? I am really big on Gordin, Didkovsky who I think should be drafted but will likely not be, but I think Akhtyamov who I am also big on, WILL get drafted. He looks very intriguing.

One other guy I didn't see listed but I think is maybe worth monitoring is Nikolayev. He's older but this kid has some high end talent in the crease, wicked legs on this kid, and SKA is such a goalie factory lately. I have him high on my list and think something will happen here in the mid-late rounds. I think he's worth a gamble for teams that might be weaker longterm in net.

About Gordin, I totally see the upside and understand why he can be liked, but I don't see him putting enough effort in it (and I kind of had this kind of impression already last year, so it is a serious concern for me).

A bit of an other situation with Didkovsky, I like his shot, but that's more or less all, everything else seem pretty mediocre to me. Even more, when at the 5 Nation's he was replaced with younger Poltapov on the line with Zlodeyev and Trineyev, they didn't look like they miss him, so it makes me think at least that they don't really depend on him, if not the other way around.

Akhtyamov is interesting in terms of talent, but when I see Skotnikov stopping 60 in the decisive MHL playoff game, while Akhtyamov is keeping the bench warm and polished (and it isn't like he lost the starter's place to someone much older or talented), it kind of leaves an impression. I mean, one of the things that I hate to see in goalie prospects is long-term cold streaks, as pretty often it is hard to fix or takes long time to do it.

As for Nikolayev, he might be not bad, but here the MHL league specifics come into play: for the players aged 20 it already becomes extremely hard to understand, if a player is good because he is talented (but maybe late-blooming, if he is still unnoticed on other levels) or if he is good just because he is already older and experienced. I must admit that I don't think I'm able to distinguish between these kind of cases, so if there is such a player, then I prefer to ignore him for now and wait until he shows himself at least on the VHL level. That might seem to be not a very elegant approach, but so far it isn't working that bad, if you look at the track record for this kind of players in the past.

 

[neelynugs]

Maxim Krovyakov at eliteprospects.com

THN had this guy in the top 120. any thoughts on his game? obviously way off your radar,
since he's not in your top 30 or HM or others list.

 

[Caser]

Maxim Krovyakov at eliteprospects.com

THN had this guy in the top 120. any thoughts on his game? obviously way off your radar,
since he's not in your top 30 or HM or others list.

I also just saw Ryan's list and thought if someone will ask that.

I actually already answered at the first page that he was invisible like for the first two thirds of the season, so not sure if I can rate him high just judging by the final month and a half or something, although I can agree that there are some tools. Probably if I'd go to something like Top60 then he would be there, but I decided to not to and I can't really put him any higher because of that reason.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Gogolev vs. Popov

23. LW Pavel Gogolev
We have waited so long for Gogolev's goalscoring talents to be converted into consistent production and finally the day has come — he is now considered as one of the top guys in the entire OHL at putting the puck into the net. To achieve that he had to take his all-around game to the next level and while there are still doubts about him potentially succeeding on the NHL level, this kind of a natural goalscoring talent is something that every team is looking for.


40. LW Sergei Popov
Skillful playmaking winger with a decent shot, Popov had a breakout year and even was mentioned among the top OHL players, but there are doubts that other components are on the right level to succeed in the NHL.

Curious about these two left wings - both of whom are in their third year of draft eligibility. Both had big jumps in points (though Gogolev scored more goals) in their fourth OHL seasons.

Gogolev is listed in CS final rankings while Popov is not.

What separates them in terms of their potential?

 

[wings5]

Gogolev vs. Popov



Curious about these two left wings - both of whom are in their third year of draft eligibility. Both had big jumps in points (though Gogolev scored more goals) in their fourth OHL seasons.

Gogolev is listed in CS final rankings while Popov is not.

What separates them in terms of their potential?

You at least would have to see a follow up strong season from Popov , even before this season Gogolev had already scored 30 goals at the age of 17. This is really Popov's only noteworthy OHL season so far. As a double overager, you have to do something pretty significant to get noticed and drafted. Not too sure Popov has done quite enough.

 

[tcat84]

What are your thoughts on Maxim Nevolin?

He had decent #s in the MHL, in the top 5 of most offensive categories among other 1st year eligible guys. Also had a 12 game call up with the KHL. I watched a few shifts of his but didn't see much.

 

[gusev nikita]

Draft Profile: Marat Khusnutdinov

 

[jvr32]

From the little I saw Krovyakov is someone who has a nice toolset with that size and decent hockey sense. But he needs to improve his skating, shot and overall offensive game. I think he needs to show more of offensive production, but he could be worth a gamble in the round 5.

 

[gusev nikita]

https://www.overtimeheroics.net/index.php/2020/05/10/2020-nhl-draft-top-russian-forwards/

 

[Caser]

Gogolev vs. Popov



Curious about these two left wings - both of whom are in their third year of draft eligibility. Both had big jumps in points (though Gogolev scored more goals) in their fourth OHL seasons.

Gogolev is listed in CS final rankings while Popov is not.

What separates them in terms of their potential?

I think it's just a different level of natural talent: aside from the playmaking, Gogolev is basically better at basically everything, most importantly he is more dynamic and has better size/skating combination and also the tiny little fact that he is one of the best guys in the OHL at goalscoring.

You at least would have to see a follow up strong season from Popov , even before this season Gogolev had already scored 30 goals at the age of 17. This is really Popov's only noteworthy OHL season so far. As a double overager, you have to do something pretty significant to get noticed and drafted. Not too sure Popov has done quite enough.

Also that, when you see a prospect having a breakout like that, there's always a thought that, as it suddenly appeared out of nowhere, it might suddenly disappear again.

What are your thoughts on Maxim Nevolin?

He had decent #s in the MHL, in the top 5 of most offensive categories among other 1st year eligible guys. Also had a 12 game call up with the KHL. I watched a few shifts of his but didn't see much.

Nevolin is one of the rare cases, when I had a good impression of player even last year and he had a decent year and in the end I decide to leave him out. In general, I like his creativity, good vision and puck skills, but I don't consider his overall offensive game to be that great, possibly because of the rather modest size/skating combination (he looks smaller than listed to me, totally can't believe he is 6'0"), also, comparing to other similar guys, it doesn't seem he is willing to compensate that with some two-way game. So in the end I thought that I definitely prefer his linemate Chizhikov, as he plays more complete game and is just 4 months older.

Draft Profile: Marat Khusnutdinov

https://www.overtimeheroics.net/index.php/2020/05/10/2020-nhl-draft-top-russian-forwards/

Interesting links, but it would be a bit more contributing to the discussion if you'd also write something about it, like your opinion or what exactly did you mean by posting those, because it's not exactly obvious at least to me.

From the little I saw Krovyakov is someone who has a nice toolset with that size and decent hockey sense. But he needs to improve his skating, shot and overall offensive game. I think he needs to show more of offensive production, but he could be worth a gamble in the round 5.

I think he has got decent skating for his size, but some consistency in the offensive game would be nice, yeah. Speaking of production, just noticed that half from his 40 points came from the games vs. weaker opponents, so that might be the reason why he was pretty invisible to me. And while some scouts can certainly like his tools and really think it is worth a gamble, I'd probably prefer to bet on another horse.

 

[Tormentor]

Some NHL scouts may project Krovyakov as a workhorse 3rd/4th line forward that plays a strong two-way game and helps kill penalties. He’s a big guy who skates well, puts in a lot of effort and impacts the game heavily at both ends of the ice. Furthermore, he seems to be on an upward trending trajectory; he scored 21 points in his last 17 regular season games.

It can sometimes be difficult to get Russian prospects to commit spending few years in AHL and finetune their game for North American rinks, but if we decide to overlook that, I believe Krovyakov is worth a selection in the upcoming draft.

 

[neelynugs]

35. LW Yaroslav Likhachyov
No one can really doubt Likhachyov's skill and attacking potential, but last season was the one to forget. And he actually forgot it, as this season his production increased more than twice and he even managed to score a Michigan goal in the QMJHL.
.

hey caser, was wondering your thoughts on this guy - obviously tons of skill, but any concerns about his game that really stand out for you?

 

[Caser]

Some NHL scouts may project Krovyakov as a workhorse 3rd/4th line forward that plays a strong two-way game and helps kill penalties. He’s a big guy who skates well, puts in a lot of effort and impacts the game heavily at both ends of the ice. Furthermore, he seems to be on an upward trending trajectory; he scored 21 points in his last 17 regular season games.

It can sometimes be difficult to get Russian prospects to commit spending few years in AHL and finetune their game for North American rinks, but if we decide to overlook that, I believe Krovyakov is worth a selection in the upcoming draft.

Just in case, Krovyakov already plays on NA rink, as SKA organization's teams play on the small rink.

hey caser, was wondering your thoughts on this guy - obviously tons of skill, but any concerns about his game that really stand out for you?

Last season I kind of had an impression that his hockey sense might be not exactly on the same level as his skills, but maybe those were just adaptation issues, as this season it looked better. Still it's the case when I would prefer to wait a bit and see.

 

[Tormentor]

Just in case, Krovyakov already plays on NA rink, as SKA organization's teams play on the small rink.

I’m aware that many of the Russian teams have smaller rinks nowadays, but I don’t think it’s going to change the fact that many of the 2nd tier Russian prospects need to spend time in AHL before possibly getting a chance in the big show.

 

[Caser]

I’m aware that many of the Russian teams have smaller rinks nowadays, but I don’t think it’s going to change the fact that many of the 2nd tier Russian prospects need to spend time in AHL before possibly getting a chance in the big show.

I think it has more to do with the adjustment process in terms of hockey style than in terms of rink size.

 

[wings5]

Beryozkin sounds like a very interesting prospect the more I hear about him. Would he fit into a bottom 6 role or strictly top 6 or bust kind of prospect?

 

[Caser]

Beryozkin sounds like a very interesting prospect the more I hear about him. Would he fit into a bottom 6 role or strictly top 6 or bust kind of prospect?

I look at him as potentially becoming someone similar to Yegor Korshkov, so a power winger comfortable anywhere in the Top9.

 

[Caser]

It was a quiet evening here today, so I thought that maybe I should sit down and have another look at players, who just didn't make it in my list and see if I could rank them somehow too, just because why not. So here's what I got:

51. W Ilya Rychkov
52. LD Akim Trishin
53. GK Yegor Guskov
54. W Maxim Krovyakov
55. LD Pavel Yelizarov
56. W/C Ilya Ovchinnikov
57. C Lev Komissarov
58. LW Maxim Nevolin
59. W Zakhar Shablovskiy
60. LD Nikita Zorkin

 

[neelynugs]

hey @Caser - just stat watching here, but the kid who led the MHL in goals,
rashensky. you like him at all?

 

[Caser]

hey @Caser - just stat watching here, but the kid who led the MHL in goals,
rashensky. you like him at all?

I can't say I watched a lot of Dynamo St.Petersburg games this season, but those stats aren't so impressive to me, as almost half of Rashevsky's goals are scored on the PP (and Dynamo was among the top league teams in terms of PP minutes). Additionally he was frequently playing with Zhabreyev, who is a very good and creative playmaker and also you can't say he is among the youngest players of the league, which makes me want to see him translate those goals to the VHL first.

 

[rohky]

NHL Draft 2020: According to the ESPN Yaroslav Askarov is the best goalie prospect since Carey Price. Where do we think he'll get drafted to?

 

[5cotland]

NHL Draft 2020: According to the ESPN Yaroslav Askarov is the best goalie prospect since Carey Price. Where do we think he'll get drafted to?

Hard to say until draft rankings are confirmed. Chicago may draft him but Minnesota apparently may take a chance.

 

[Caser]

With the recent news I guess I'll have to revisit this list in October or whenever the draft is planned. On other interesting news, just noticed that Corey Pronman has Daniil Gutik rather high in his list, which has quite surprised me to be honest, although I can't deny that he is extremely skilled.

NHL Draft 2020: According to the ESPN Yaroslav Askarov is the best goalie prospect since Carey Price. Where do we think he'll get drafted to?

Hard to say until draft rankings are confirmed. Chicago may draft him but Minnesota apparently may take a chance.

Yeah, it more depends on where the team, that reallllly needs a high-end goalie prospect, will be picking.

 

[5cotland]

With the recent news I guess I'll have to revisit this list in October or whenever the draft is planned. On other interesting news, just noticed that Corey Pronman has Daniil Gutik rather high in his list, which has quite surprised me to be honest, although I can't deny that he is extremely skilled.

Dont look Pronman's list as a guide. I thought it was extremely poor.

The big stand out for me is Pavel Gogolev ranked 45th. I didnt agree with some of his rankings anyway but that was quite a shocker for me.

 

[Caser]

Dont look Pronman's list as a guide. I thought it was extremely poor.

The big stand out for me is Pavel Gogolev ranked 45th. I didnt agree with some of his rankings anyway but that was quite a shocker for me.

I think that his list should be viewed in context: not as a usual draft rankings, but more of a list of players, that he has seen and liked. And since he has connection to NHL scouts, when I see a player ranked rather high on his list I read it as "I like him and some scouts too" and just don't look at the exact position on the list as something related to a potential draft position.