Man I'm still fired up about this. I just love this pick. I think those of you that are super down on it got married to the idea of certain prospects that were more commonly expected to still be available. Maybe Buium is as good of a prospect, but I don't think you can say for sure he's better.
The Mukhamdullin comparison is lazy, but one key reason I loved that pick as well was that you're talking about a D that played a real role on a KHL team at 17. That alone along with the size and skating is an awesome combination. I really think in 3 years we're going to be watching him swallow up offenses trying to establish possession in the zone and in time, dominating on the PK. The offensive worries are overblown. He has the skill to get the puck up ice and that's good enough to be an excellent defenseman.
They're not perfect analogies, but I truly think Silayev will be to Hughes and Nemec what Hjalmarsson was to Keith and Seabrook or even Daneyko was to Neids and Stevens. Past when our star forwards are aging out of their primes, these three D are going to carry our team on their backs.