Caser
Moderator
I was hesitating for some time if I should make my annual write-up this year, as due to all the recent events I kind of felt uninspired, but then I remembered that in previous years I got indications that even some of the players have been reading those, so it would be totally unfair to these guys to ignore them this year, not to mention other readers, who are interested in the topic.
Probably the main question coming into this year’s draft is if the legendary Russian factor will be reborn this year. Reports from various sources have been there about NHL teams avoiding to draft Russian players (or at least Russian-based players) this year and although some already have been denied, still there are too much of that kind of reports to ignore the saying about a possible correlation between smoke and fire. On the other hand, while it will likely reduce the number of drafted Russian players, it might make things more interesting as there could be teams that will be willing to make a benefit from this situation like some teams did back in the classical Russian factor era. Also due to all that I had to think about the possible format change, but for now I’ve decided to just stick with the usual one – a Top30 with a brief description of strengths and weaknesses followed by some HMs, since at this point it is not possible to predict the impact of the situation anyway.
Feel free to discuss, share your opinions, ask questions (in case you have any) etc. and don’t forget that everything here is just my personal opinion that very well can be wrong. Also while I hate to, I’ll still have to add a reminder that the political discussion isn’t allowed here by the forum rules, so if you’ll decide discussing some of the bordering topics, please make sure to double check if you’re not in the political territory.
1. W/C Danila Yurov
I see a complete player potential in Yurov and by that I mean not just being not bad all-around, but actually excelling at that. Due to that I think of him as a low-risk type of prospect, yet I also don’t have any reason to doubt the reward in his case too. Can’t think of any real weakness here, maybe only that his shooting ability is looking to be just good and not great, also would be good for him to get stronger, but that is something fixable even short-term.
2. LHD Pavel Mintyukov
I must admit I was a bit worried about Mintyukov’s potential after he wasn’t playing last season, but I’m certainly glad he didn’t lose his great attacking skills and is still a high-end talent in terms of puckmoving and puckcarrying, not to mention a very good skating/size combo. With that being said I also still have an impression there might be some issues with the defensive game.
3. LW Alexander Perevalov
What we have in Perevalov is the potential to be a great goalscorer, as his right-handed shot is precise and he is excellent at creating goalscoring opportunities for himself. I’ve seen some reports doubting his skating, but I failed to see those issues, as at least on the MHL level it looked pretty legit to me. What is a concern for me is a rather bleak second half of the season, but considering how dominant he was in the first half I’d be still willing to give him a benefit of doubt.
4. LW Ivan Miroshnichenko
If not his health issues Miroshnichenko would be #2 on my list, but, even though I hope and wish him the best possible outcome, still even in this case he will miss some valuable development time. If we look at Miroshnichenko’s strengths then it is obviously just an unmatched natural athleticism (both in terms of the skating and overall strength) and an excellent right-handed shot — comparisons to Kovalchuk aren’t just some pretty flattering words in this case; all-around game is something that still need to be developed though.
5. LHD Vladimir Grudinin
Let’s start with the weaknesses here: 5’11”. Seriously, I think I like everything else about Grudinin, as I think he is an extremely mobile skater (as I like to say it, if you forgot his number, just look for the most mobile player on the ice) and is always aimed at the goal. To be fair, if not the size I think it would be very hard for me to chose between him and Mintyukov, as he isn’t any worse at the attacking components and sometimes I even like his defense more (even though being undersized also has it’s negative impact there).
6. W Gleb Trikozov
As I read stuff on Trikozov it feels like I’m the only person, who is not a huge fan of him, but I really have doubts about his overall hockey sense (which are a bit amplified by the reports of him having kind of a complicated character), not to mention issues in terms of the two-way game. Still he has got some wheels and a really good right-handed shot, is electrifying on the offense, so I can also really understand why there is all the praise.
7. LHD Artyom Duda
I can’t remember seeing a better powerplay orchestrator at the junior age than Duda — a perfect shot, good skills, passing and skating agility that he likes to use to break his opponents’ ankles. Good speed, might be not too explosive though. With that being said I have notable question marks about his overall willingness to play physical and high-intensity game, that’s something that might need to be fixed to be able to translate his game outside of the juniors.
8. LHD Arseny Koromyslov
Koromyslov is an athletic big-framed defenseman with soft hands and long reach, also with a hard shot. Can’t call his skating speed great, but I like his edgework and impressive agility considering his size. Still needs to work in terms of filling out his frame, also I must admit that I view him as a bit too error-prone at the moment, would be important to get rid of that somehow.
9. W Kirill Dolzhenkov
Let’s start with the strengths here: 6’6” 198lbs. Seriously though, Dolzhenkov has also got very good hands and a powerful shot (particularly a very strong wrister). What might be even more important, with that kind of size he also doesn’t look slow. There are concerns too though, as at his size he doesn’t look like to be playing too physical, also not being great at the two-way game as well as having some overall decision-making issues.
10. C/W Ruslan Gazizov
After a great Hlinka-Gretzky tournament where Gazizov showed that he can be a dangerous offensive weapon with his skill, great playmaking and a solid goalscoring ability, but the OHL season brought more questions than answers — is there really something aside from these skills? Not to mention that in terms of size and skating there are some concerns as well. Still I want to hope that the real Gazizov is the one we’ve seen at the start of the season.
11. GK Maxim Arefyev
Finally a goalie here, Arefyev has got a very good 6’4” size, good reflexes and has shown a very impressive psychological consistency by being solid game in and game out while playing on a pretty weak team and always being just overloaded (hence the modest stats). A bit raw and still would be good to see him on the higher level than just juniors, as he is already 19 (that’s not a knock on him, just it adds to the projection uncertainty).
12. W Viktor Neuchev
Neuchev possesses that trademark Chelyabinsk smooth skating that everybody loves to see, also great skills and a solid shot (as well as the willingness to use it). While the offensive package is really impressive I can’t call him too physical and, what seems more important to me, his two-way game looks non-existing, that’s not the way you play hockey at the pro level. I’m also not sure if I’m a fan of his decision-making as such, so in the end of the day I’d say similarly as with Trikozov I’m a bit lower on him than most of the other rankings are.
13. LHD Daniil Orlov
Orlov is an athletic and mobile defenseman, has good size, his skating and puck skills allow him to be almost automatic in terms of carrying the puck through the neutral zone, also is competent at shooting the puck from different ranges. Doesn’t mind playing physical, yet there’s certainly a room for improvement. Also needs to be better defensively, as I think it would be good to be making less errors there.
14. LHD Kirill Kudryavtsev
Kudryavtsev is excellent at the skating department, also with a good shot and puck skills, therefore overall it looks like a solid attacking potential there to me. On the other hand I’s say he is a bit undersized and certainly needs improvements in terms of the reliability and defensive awareness as well as at being more consistent.
15. C Ilya Kvochko
Kvochko is a natural playmaker with great vision and skill, solid goalscorer too, but he is undersized, doesn’t seem to be very athletical and also I think he is not the greatest skater, would be good to improve his two-way game too, so the long story short: there is a talent, but overall I’m a bit skeptical in terms of his ability to transfer the skills to the pro hockey.
16. C/W Ilya Rogovskiy
A smart and pretty hard working center, Rogovskiy is an excellent skater, competent at playmaking and with a very good release on the right-handed shot. As for the weaknesses I think he is likely needing to work a bit more on the defensive game and, of course, on becoming stronger. Might seem that he had kind of modest stats in the MHL this season, but for someone getting about 13 minutes of icetime (yes, Loko team has quite some depth) those stats are totally legit.
17. W Maxim Barbashev
To me the younger Barbashev looks like a pretty athletic forward, who works hard and has a very fine shot and goalscoring potential overall, also seems to be a legit skater, but in general I think he needs to be more consistent.
18. RHD Vsevolod Komarov
A big defenseman with very soft hands, Komarov also has a very useful right-handed shot and seems to be pretty smart overall. What is unclear to me is if his skating is good enough though, even if keeping his size in consideration.
19. GK Maxim Mayorov
6’6”. I think I even shouldn’t have written anything aside from that about Mayorov, but he can be really good at catching those pucks too, has posted good numbers this season even though to me it looks like he is extremely raw in most of the technical aspects, is streaky and therefore quite a longshot (and here I really mean it).
20. LW Dmitry Buchelnikov
Buchelnikov can drive the play, is a clinical finisher (pretty much automatic with his right-handed shot from the left circle), has more than enough skill and even doesn’t forget about the defensive responsibilities, but being barely 5’9” certainly raises questions about him reproducing his junior league success to the higher level.
21. RW Yaroslav Yapparov
Looking at Yapparov’s abilities I somehow can’t find too much to criticize as he got the potential basically in every aspect of the game. That might sound a bit like something I wrote about Yurov, but here the talents look to be in a much rawer state, so it is harder to tell about the actual upside, also the consistency is something he still needs to find.
22. W/C Danil Alalykin
I can’t find any logical explanation about Alalykin not being drafted yet, as he is an extremely smart and hard-working player with a well-rounded skillset. Stats might seem modest, but those are actually very good for the icetime he is getting (once he even scored in a game where he received just one shift). Is on the lightweighted side a bit, but I think it is still fixable.
23. LHD Nikita Yevseyev
Yevseyev is a smart and reliable defenseman with good puck skills and shot, also is good on the physical side of the game, which allowed him to spend almost all of the season playing in the VHL. There’s a bit of a deficiency in the skating department, which limits the potential, so the situation is kind of similar to Kirill Kirsanov last year.
24. C/W Dmitry Katelevskiy
I see a smart, hard-working and versatile (he even was a backup goalie once) two-way player in Katelevskiy, but the upside might be a bit questionable, as while he can contribute to the offense in many ways, the skill level is kind of mediocre and also there are questions about his skating, maybe not even as such, but at controlling the puck.
25. RHD Artyom Barabosha
We have a very athletic, big and hard-hitting defenseman here in Barabosha, also there’s a powerful right-handed shot as a bonus. On the other hand I don’t think there’s much offensive potential and for the stay-at-home type of guy he needs to improve his reliability.
26. C Ilya Ivantsov
Ivantsov is a skilled center, who is extremely naturally talented in terms of the playmaking (and here I mean skills, vision and the timing of the passes), also he has just been named rookie of the year in in the VHL pro league, which is a solid indication that his abilities aren’t limited to the junior level. As for the issues, he is a bit undersized and, what is more important, he can’t be called a great skater.
27. RHD Vladislav Sapunov
A lot of things to like about Sapunov, as he is smart, has good puck and passing skills and a very impressive right-handed shot. The issue is that he is not big and while his skating isn’t bad, it is also not on the level to think there is much of an attacking potential.
28. GK Zakhar Vinogradov
Vinogradov has a decent 6’2” height and while it is hard to expect some sort of a highlight reel saves from him, he is very consistent at stopping the puck and that is kind of what goalies do, so there might be something out of him.
29. GK Sergei Ivanov
It makes perfect sense to me to place Ivanov right after Vinogradov, as Ivanov is the type of goalie, who got the great mobility and reflexes which allow him to actually make the type of highlight-reel saves that can shift the momentum to his team’s side, but the 5’11” height is basically a death sentence to his draft chances.
30. W Grigory Kuzmin
Extreme amount of skill and overall a very intriguing offensive skillset and potential in Kuzmin, but he is small (5’8”) and also you can’t call him a speedster, still he was able to very successfully survive the VHL level, which is a promising sign.
HMs
31. W Semyon Sinyatkin
32. LHD Daniil Ivanov
33. C Pavel Dergunov
34. W/C Danil Bashkirov
35. W German Tochilkin
36. W Nikita Buruyanov
37. W Nikita Grebyonkin
38. LHD Kirill Steklov
39. GK Yegor Guskov
40. LHD Vasily Machulin
41. LHD Yegor Savikov
42. C Alexander Volkov
43. W Semyon Demidov
44. RW Ivan Didkovskiy
45. W Nikita Blednov
46. GK Sergei Murashov
47. W/C Pavel Tyutnev
48. C Ivan Zinchenko
49. C Matvei Averochkin
50. LHD Alexander Pelevin
51. GK Ilya Nabokov
52. LHD Nikita Smirnov
53. W Raul Yakupov
54. W Grigory Osipov
55. W Vadim Fattakhov
56. RHD Yaroslav Tsulygin
57. LHD Vsevolod Almetkin
58. RHD Bogdan Krokhalyov
59. W Roman Makarov
60. W Innokenty Rybin
Probably the main question coming into this year’s draft is if the legendary Russian factor will be reborn this year. Reports from various sources have been there about NHL teams avoiding to draft Russian players (or at least Russian-based players) this year and although some already have been denied, still there are too much of that kind of reports to ignore the saying about a possible correlation between smoke and fire. On the other hand, while it will likely reduce the number of drafted Russian players, it might make things more interesting as there could be teams that will be willing to make a benefit from this situation like some teams did back in the classical Russian factor era. Also due to all that I had to think about the possible format change, but for now I’ve decided to just stick with the usual one – a Top30 with a brief description of strengths and weaknesses followed by some HMs, since at this point it is not possible to predict the impact of the situation anyway.
Feel free to discuss, share your opinions, ask questions (in case you have any) etc. and don’t forget that everything here is just my personal opinion that very well can be wrong. Also while I hate to, I’ll still have to add a reminder that the political discussion isn’t allowed here by the forum rules, so if you’ll decide discussing some of the bordering topics, please make sure to double check if you’re not in the political territory.
1. W/C Danila Yurov
I see a complete player potential in Yurov and by that I mean not just being not bad all-around, but actually excelling at that. Due to that I think of him as a low-risk type of prospect, yet I also don’t have any reason to doubt the reward in his case too. Can’t think of any real weakness here, maybe only that his shooting ability is looking to be just good and not great, also would be good for him to get stronger, but that is something fixable even short-term.
2. LHD Pavel Mintyukov
I must admit I was a bit worried about Mintyukov’s potential after he wasn’t playing last season, but I’m certainly glad he didn’t lose his great attacking skills and is still a high-end talent in terms of puckmoving and puckcarrying, not to mention a very good skating/size combo. With that being said I also still have an impression there might be some issues with the defensive game.
3. LW Alexander Perevalov
What we have in Perevalov is the potential to be a great goalscorer, as his right-handed shot is precise and he is excellent at creating goalscoring opportunities for himself. I’ve seen some reports doubting his skating, but I failed to see those issues, as at least on the MHL level it looked pretty legit to me. What is a concern for me is a rather bleak second half of the season, but considering how dominant he was in the first half I’d be still willing to give him a benefit of doubt.
4. LW Ivan Miroshnichenko
If not his health issues Miroshnichenko would be #2 on my list, but, even though I hope and wish him the best possible outcome, still even in this case he will miss some valuable development time. If we look at Miroshnichenko’s strengths then it is obviously just an unmatched natural athleticism (both in terms of the skating and overall strength) and an excellent right-handed shot — comparisons to Kovalchuk aren’t just some pretty flattering words in this case; all-around game is something that still need to be developed though.
5. LHD Vladimir Grudinin
Let’s start with the weaknesses here: 5’11”. Seriously, I think I like everything else about Grudinin, as I think he is an extremely mobile skater (as I like to say it, if you forgot his number, just look for the most mobile player on the ice) and is always aimed at the goal. To be fair, if not the size I think it would be very hard for me to chose between him and Mintyukov, as he isn’t any worse at the attacking components and sometimes I even like his defense more (even though being undersized also has it’s negative impact there).
6. W Gleb Trikozov
As I read stuff on Trikozov it feels like I’m the only person, who is not a huge fan of him, but I really have doubts about his overall hockey sense (which are a bit amplified by the reports of him having kind of a complicated character), not to mention issues in terms of the two-way game. Still he has got some wheels and a really good right-handed shot, is electrifying on the offense, so I can also really understand why there is all the praise.
7. LHD Artyom Duda
I can’t remember seeing a better powerplay orchestrator at the junior age than Duda — a perfect shot, good skills, passing and skating agility that he likes to use to break his opponents’ ankles. Good speed, might be not too explosive though. With that being said I have notable question marks about his overall willingness to play physical and high-intensity game, that’s something that might need to be fixed to be able to translate his game outside of the juniors.
8. LHD Arseny Koromyslov
Koromyslov is an athletic big-framed defenseman with soft hands and long reach, also with a hard shot. Can’t call his skating speed great, but I like his edgework and impressive agility considering his size. Still needs to work in terms of filling out his frame, also I must admit that I view him as a bit too error-prone at the moment, would be important to get rid of that somehow.
9. W Kirill Dolzhenkov
Let’s start with the strengths here: 6’6” 198lbs. Seriously though, Dolzhenkov has also got very good hands and a powerful shot (particularly a very strong wrister). What might be even more important, with that kind of size he also doesn’t look slow. There are concerns too though, as at his size he doesn’t look like to be playing too physical, also not being great at the two-way game as well as having some overall decision-making issues.
10. C/W Ruslan Gazizov
After a great Hlinka-Gretzky tournament where Gazizov showed that he can be a dangerous offensive weapon with his skill, great playmaking and a solid goalscoring ability, but the OHL season brought more questions than answers — is there really something aside from these skills? Not to mention that in terms of size and skating there are some concerns as well. Still I want to hope that the real Gazizov is the one we’ve seen at the start of the season.
11. GK Maxim Arefyev
Finally a goalie here, Arefyev has got a very good 6’4” size, good reflexes and has shown a very impressive psychological consistency by being solid game in and game out while playing on a pretty weak team and always being just overloaded (hence the modest stats). A bit raw and still would be good to see him on the higher level than just juniors, as he is already 19 (that’s not a knock on him, just it adds to the projection uncertainty).
12. W Viktor Neuchev
Neuchev possesses that trademark Chelyabinsk smooth skating that everybody loves to see, also great skills and a solid shot (as well as the willingness to use it). While the offensive package is really impressive I can’t call him too physical and, what seems more important to me, his two-way game looks non-existing, that’s not the way you play hockey at the pro level. I’m also not sure if I’m a fan of his decision-making as such, so in the end of the day I’d say similarly as with Trikozov I’m a bit lower on him than most of the other rankings are.
13. LHD Daniil Orlov
Orlov is an athletic and mobile defenseman, has good size, his skating and puck skills allow him to be almost automatic in terms of carrying the puck through the neutral zone, also is competent at shooting the puck from different ranges. Doesn’t mind playing physical, yet there’s certainly a room for improvement. Also needs to be better defensively, as I think it would be good to be making less errors there.
14. LHD Kirill Kudryavtsev
Kudryavtsev is excellent at the skating department, also with a good shot and puck skills, therefore overall it looks like a solid attacking potential there to me. On the other hand I’s say he is a bit undersized and certainly needs improvements in terms of the reliability and defensive awareness as well as at being more consistent.
15. C Ilya Kvochko
Kvochko is a natural playmaker with great vision and skill, solid goalscorer too, but he is undersized, doesn’t seem to be very athletical and also I think he is not the greatest skater, would be good to improve his two-way game too, so the long story short: there is a talent, but overall I’m a bit skeptical in terms of his ability to transfer the skills to the pro hockey.
16. C/W Ilya Rogovskiy
A smart and pretty hard working center, Rogovskiy is an excellent skater, competent at playmaking and with a very good release on the right-handed shot. As for the weaknesses I think he is likely needing to work a bit more on the defensive game and, of course, on becoming stronger. Might seem that he had kind of modest stats in the MHL this season, but for someone getting about 13 minutes of icetime (yes, Loko team has quite some depth) those stats are totally legit.
17. W Maxim Barbashev
To me the younger Barbashev looks like a pretty athletic forward, who works hard and has a very fine shot and goalscoring potential overall, also seems to be a legit skater, but in general I think he needs to be more consistent.
18. RHD Vsevolod Komarov
A big defenseman with very soft hands, Komarov also has a very useful right-handed shot and seems to be pretty smart overall. What is unclear to me is if his skating is good enough though, even if keeping his size in consideration.
19. GK Maxim Mayorov
6’6”. I think I even shouldn’t have written anything aside from that about Mayorov, but he can be really good at catching those pucks too, has posted good numbers this season even though to me it looks like he is extremely raw in most of the technical aspects, is streaky and therefore quite a longshot (and here I really mean it).
20. LW Dmitry Buchelnikov
Buchelnikov can drive the play, is a clinical finisher (pretty much automatic with his right-handed shot from the left circle), has more than enough skill and even doesn’t forget about the defensive responsibilities, but being barely 5’9” certainly raises questions about him reproducing his junior league success to the higher level.
21. RW Yaroslav Yapparov
Looking at Yapparov’s abilities I somehow can’t find too much to criticize as he got the potential basically in every aspect of the game. That might sound a bit like something I wrote about Yurov, but here the talents look to be in a much rawer state, so it is harder to tell about the actual upside, also the consistency is something he still needs to find.
22. W/C Danil Alalykin
I can’t find any logical explanation about Alalykin not being drafted yet, as he is an extremely smart and hard-working player with a well-rounded skillset. Stats might seem modest, but those are actually very good for the icetime he is getting (once he even scored in a game where he received just one shift). Is on the lightweighted side a bit, but I think it is still fixable.
23. LHD Nikita Yevseyev
Yevseyev is a smart and reliable defenseman with good puck skills and shot, also is good on the physical side of the game, which allowed him to spend almost all of the season playing in the VHL. There’s a bit of a deficiency in the skating department, which limits the potential, so the situation is kind of similar to Kirill Kirsanov last year.
24. C/W Dmitry Katelevskiy
I see a smart, hard-working and versatile (he even was a backup goalie once) two-way player in Katelevskiy, but the upside might be a bit questionable, as while he can contribute to the offense in many ways, the skill level is kind of mediocre and also there are questions about his skating, maybe not even as such, but at controlling the puck.
25. RHD Artyom Barabosha
We have a very athletic, big and hard-hitting defenseman here in Barabosha, also there’s a powerful right-handed shot as a bonus. On the other hand I don’t think there’s much offensive potential and for the stay-at-home type of guy he needs to improve his reliability.
26. C Ilya Ivantsov
Ivantsov is a skilled center, who is extremely naturally talented in terms of the playmaking (and here I mean skills, vision and the timing of the passes), also he has just been named rookie of the year in in the VHL pro league, which is a solid indication that his abilities aren’t limited to the junior level. As for the issues, he is a bit undersized and, what is more important, he can’t be called a great skater.
27. RHD Vladislav Sapunov
A lot of things to like about Sapunov, as he is smart, has good puck and passing skills and a very impressive right-handed shot. The issue is that he is not big and while his skating isn’t bad, it is also not on the level to think there is much of an attacking potential.
28. GK Zakhar Vinogradov
Vinogradov has a decent 6’2” height and while it is hard to expect some sort of a highlight reel saves from him, he is very consistent at stopping the puck and that is kind of what goalies do, so there might be something out of him.
29. GK Sergei Ivanov
It makes perfect sense to me to place Ivanov right after Vinogradov, as Ivanov is the type of goalie, who got the great mobility and reflexes which allow him to actually make the type of highlight-reel saves that can shift the momentum to his team’s side, but the 5’11” height is basically a death sentence to his draft chances.
30. W Grigory Kuzmin
Extreme amount of skill and overall a very intriguing offensive skillset and potential in Kuzmin, but he is small (5’8”) and also you can’t call him a speedster, still he was able to very successfully survive the VHL level, which is a promising sign.
HMs
31. W Semyon Sinyatkin
32. LHD Daniil Ivanov
33. C Pavel Dergunov
34. W/C Danil Bashkirov
35. W German Tochilkin
36. W Nikita Buruyanov
37. W Nikita Grebyonkin
38. LHD Kirill Steklov
39. GK Yegor Guskov
40. LHD Vasily Machulin
41. LHD Yegor Savikov
42. C Alexander Volkov
43. W Semyon Demidov
44. RW Ivan Didkovskiy
45. W Nikita Blednov
46. GK Sergei Murashov
47. W/C Pavel Tyutnev
48. C Ivan Zinchenko
49. C Matvei Averochkin
50. LHD Alexander Pelevin
51. GK Ilya Nabokov
52. LHD Nikita Smirnov
53. W Raul Yakupov
54. W Grigory Osipov
55. W Vadim Fattakhov
56. RHD Yaroslav Tsulygin
57. LHD Vsevolod Almetkin
58. RHD Bogdan Krokhalyov
59. W Roman Makarov
60. W Innokenty Rybin
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