Prospect Info: [2023 - 110th] Bogdan Konyushkov (KHL - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)

[Walrus26]

KHL All Star Bogdan KonyushkovView attachment 937360

Impressed with how slavic Zachail Fucalov looks amongst his fellow KHLers.

 

[LaP]

Impressed with how slavic Zachail Fucalov looks amongst his fellow KHLers.

In a Slavic look contest nobody will ever beat Vadim Shipachyov

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Not really they added Voynov so he gets less offensive opportunities. He turned 22 today so still very young for a dman.

Yeah it’s impressive that even without the production he’s still an All Star.

I don’t think he necessarily has plus plus offensive upside even if he replicated last year’s production but I doubt he lost whatever offensive upside he flashed last year. More likely it being a case of what you mentioned

 

[morhilane]

Would be great if he was fine with starting out in the AHL, I had always figured he'd only come over if an NHL spot were a given. I wonder if the habs brass are extra motivated to have another russian or two around demidov to help him acclimatize next year.

I doubt he's starting in the AHL, he's been a top KHL dmen for two seasons now, he's going to be above the other RHDs on the depth chart once he cross over.

 

[JadedRandom]

Yeah it’s impressive that even without the production he’s still an All Star.

I don’t think he necessarily has plus plus offensive upside even if he replicated last year’s production but I doubt he lost whatever offensive upside he flashed last year. More likely it being a case of what you mentioned

I've watched Torpedo's game against Lada earlier this month, which they won out of sheer luck, and also their tilt against Vityaz whose ultimate score looked flattering for Torpedo compared to on-ice play.

In those games, Torpedo as a whole got out-possessed, gave up way more high-danger scoring chances than their opponents while also managing to lose a majority of the 50/50 puck battles in all 3 zones. Simply put, those games were ugly for Torpedo and in those it not only "rained" for them, but it "poured".

And when the team around you is generally not playing well it can often be tough to look good as a defenseman, moreso given how strong a league the KHL is.

To substantiate my point even more, I thought that Konyushkov and his partner got hemmed in their zone in the recent games that I saw, and that things looked "dangerous" quite a few times for them. But when Konyushkov wasn't on the ice I also thought that Torpedo's opponents dictated play a LOT more than when he was on the ice.

And that, to me, is why Konyushkov has gotten the fan vote to get included to the All-Star game for his team.

No matter what the offensive stats say, Konyushkov is quite probably the single most important defender for Torpedo, all at the age of 22 with room to grow still.

Konyushkov isn't the most skilled nor most creative player with the puck on his stick, is the proud (?) owner of quite a bit of a muffin shot, and his physical tools/skating are frankly below NHL-average right now.

But Konyushkov's all-around awareness of the game and his defensive IQ are rock-solid, he blocks passing/shooting lanes extremely well, he rarely turns the puck over even under pressure, and he is very good in transition with his first pass out of the zone.

At this point in time it is entirely possible that even if Konyushkov comes over to the NHL that he could completely fail to make a career for himself at the highest level.

But with some progression here and there, a bit more bulking-up physically and cleaning-up of his skating, I could see a world in which Konyushkov develops into a nice defenseman to have in the NHL on a 3rd or perhaps even a 2nd pairing, kind of like a rich man's Mike Weaver.

 

[waitin425]

Impressed with how slavic Zachail Fucalov looks amongst his fellow KHLers.

Denis Kostin looks like he should be sitting at my Serbian families kitchen table, wearing an Adidas track suit, smoking cigarettes and drinking Red wine and coke.

 

[LaP]

Denis Kostin looks like he should be sitting at my Serbian families kitchen table, wearing an Adidas track suit, smoking cigarettes and drinking Red wine and coke.

He would be obviously squating and not sitting.

 

[Walrus26]

Denis Kostin looks like he should be sitting at my Serbian families kitchen table, wearing an Adidas track suit, smoking cigarettes and drinking Red wine and coke.

Something like this ?