I think you could slot Chinakov into Laine's role this year and he wouldn't miss a beat if he's healthy..
I don't think he'll be a PPG player, but I think he could bring just as much value in his smart plays and just being more of physical than Laine.
Chinakhov will score more goals and more points than Laine next year, and every year moving forward. IMO
He could still improve his defensive “awareness” a bit, and he’s not an overly agile/“shifty” player, but, his physical strength and skating has improved drastically in just a few years, as it shows what (and how quickly) a player can change or improve, when he ACTUALLY commits. I’d be extremely interested in seeing him get PK time also, he has a very good stick defensively, and would be a threat the opposing teams would have to worry about. 100% a better option than guys like KJ or Sillinger.
Look at Chinakhov’s SOG and PP numbers in relation to other “shooters” around the league. With Laine gone, and opportunities now available to others more deserving, we could see Chinakhov triple his SOG numbers, and you know, actually score some PP goals.
I see Chinakhov as this years “breakout” player. Possibly on a league wide level. I wasn’t always sold on him to start, but, the shot and offensive ability cannot be denied, and he’s improved his skating so much that he’s able to make space for himself, and quite literally skate past people, in order to get shots off regularly.
As a “young Russian” coming over, he’s progressed about as good as we could have hoped for. IMO, right now regarding the forwards, he’s 2nd to Fantilli when I’m thinking long term. 50 goal (90pt) potential.
(I might prefer they do laps every time a player scores, kind of a "support the goalies" initiative.)
