Prospect Info: Anton Silayev (LD - #10 Overall - Round 1 - 2024 Draft)

[TBF1972]

How are more people not loving “hockey science” here?

from my angle he loves to hockey. that's all i need to know.

 

[TBF1972]

you guys are stacked on defense for years if ottawa ever relocates i am becoming a devils fan

may we can trade you for some grumpy residents.

not sure if ottawa fan base is interested in a quantity for quality trade, tough.

 

[Devils731]

Looking at those full game clips he needs to get comfortable with having the puck on his stick, be a little more patient and take that extra second to chose the right play. Seems like anytime he's got the puck in the D zone it’s like holy shit get this thing away from me. He just chucks it to a team mate whether they’re open or not, off the wall or rims it around. There were some nice little passing plays when moving up ice though.

What really has me excited is his ability to skate so well backwards and be in perfect position. With that skating and reach he covers the entirety of his side of the rink from the red line into the d zone and just gobbles everyone up, holy crap, you can’t get past him.

He definitely looked like a panicky Pete with the puck in the defensive zone in some of the games I watched parts of.

His decisions weren’t always “bad” because he was moving the puck too fast, so that maybe shows he has some decent vision. He would have benefited from pausing to either find a better option or let his teammates create a better option for him. Especially with his frame and skating, he should be able to have more time than most rather than rush it, like he did.

I remind myself that it’s kind of crazy that a 17 year old was logging consistent and full minutes in the KHL so I think we should see growth in this area from natural experience alone. I’d feel more comfortable projecting growth if he had shown more points in the MHL playoffs but we didn’t, so we will see.

To your final point, he does just swallow up ice and opponents, so even if he doesn’t develop his puck moving much he should still be a strong second pairing guy. If he’s able to slow the game down a bit with the puck on his stick then you’re talking a guy whose potential value is top tier.

 

[TBF1972]

No let’s draft some f***ing centers for once. I swear thinks he’ll burst into flames if he picks one. We pick big DFD every year.

you should be very happy about the max graham pick

 

[OmNomNom]

How are more people not loving “hockey science” here?

can't tell if he's totally butchering hockey sense or was truly saying hockey science

 

[Hisch13r]

He definitely looked like a panicky Pete with the puck in the defensive zone in some of the games I watched parts of.

His decisions weren’t always “bad” because he was moving the puck too fast, so that maybe shows he has some decent vision. He would have benefited from pausing to either find a better option or let his teammates create a better option for him. Especially with his frame and skating, he should be able to have more time than most rather than rush it, like he did.

I remind myself that it’s kind of crazy that a 17 year old was logging consistent and full minutes in the KHL so I think we should see growth in this area from natural experience alone. I’d feel more comfortable projecting growth if he had shown more points in the MHL playoffs but we didn’t, so we will see.

To your final point, he does just swallow up ice and opponents, so even if he doesn’t develop his puck moving much he should still be a strong second pairing guy. If he’s able to slow the game down a bit with the puck on his stick then you’re talking a guy whose potential value is top tier.

Yeah it’s really just so hard not to envision a scenario where he isn’t at least a #4. Even at least #3 seems like a solid bet to me. Like I guess I could envision a scenario where the puckmoving troubles get larger at the NHL level but also like you said it isn’t like he can’t move the puck. He has the talent to be at least a solid puckmover. Just needs to iron out the decision making a bit. Another thing is maybe the concerns I’ve seen people have about his defense being too reactionary and him not really reading plays too well also becomes a bigger issue. Also though I just feel like with the tools he’ll still be able to get by even without reading plays well.

I also just think he and Casey are like a match made in heaven and perfectly pair together masking the others potential weakness (please don’t f***ing move that guy). I imagine some people envision a Silayev-Nemec pair but I really like the fits better of Luke-Nemec and Silayev-Casey. Nemec has the talent to drive a pair offensively but with his more reserved nature I think he might work best next to a guy like Luke who can really take charge offensively. Nemec doesn’t need to be a guy who constantly has the puck on his stick dancing around to create offense. Nemec would work really well as a more complimentary offpuck guy and fit great with Luke. We saw how incredible they were together as rookies. Then with Casey he has that creativity and ultra aggression offensively that Luke does. He can drive the offense on a 2nd pair with Silayev. He can help be that transition wiz next to Silayev and help him there. On the other hand if Casey’s size and lack of explosiveness becomes a limiting factor defensively then there’s literally not a bigger and more explosive guy out there than Anton Silayev.

 

[My3Sons]

Yeah it’s really just so hard not to envision a scenario where he isn’t at least a #4. Even at least #3 seems like a solid bet to me. Like I guess I could envision a scenario where the puckmoving troubles get larger at the NHL level but also like you said it isn’t like he can’t move the puck. He has the talent to be at least a solid puckmover. Just needs to iron out the decision making a bit. Another thing is maybe the concerns I’ve seen people have about his defense being too reactionary and him not really reading plays too well also becomes a bigger issue. Also though I just feel like with the tools he’ll still be able to get by even without reading plays well.

I also just think he and Casey are like a match made in heaven and perfectly pair together masking the others potential weakness (please don’t f***ing move that guy). I imagine some people envision a Silayev-Nemec pair but I really like the fits better of Luke-Nemec and Silayev-Casey. Nemec has the talent to drive a pair offensively but with his more reserved nature I think he might work best next to a guy like Luke who can really take charge offensively. Nemec doesn’t need to be a guy who constantly has the puck on his stick dancing around to create offense. Nemec would work really well as a more complimentary offpuck guy and fit great with Luke. We saw how incredible they were together as rookies. Then with Casey he has that creativity and ultra aggression offensively that Luke does. He can drive the offense on a 2nd pair with Silayev. He can help be that transition wiz next to Silayev and help him there. On the other hand if Casey’s size and lack of explosiveness becomes a limiting factor defensively then there’s literally not a bigger and more explosive guy out there than Anton Silayev.

He’s a teenager so it’s always a question but if he just continues to improve his physical development and gains strength and some weight that doesn’t slow him down it’s hard not to see him as a number 2 playing with an offensively biased guy on a first pair. Maybe he never becomes a one because thr offense holds him back but as long as he plays the sort of defense he already plays and can learn to transition thr puck effectively that’s one heck of a player.

 

[StevenToddIves]

Yeah it’s really just so hard not to envision a scenario where he isn’t at least a #4. Even at least #3 seems like a solid bet to me. Like I guess I could envision a scenario where the puckmoving troubles get larger at the NHL level but also like you said it isn’t like he can’t move the puck. He has the talent to be at least a solid puckmover. Just needs to iron out the decision making a bit. Another thing is maybe the concerns I’ve seen people have about his defense being too reactionary and him not really reading plays too well also becomes a bigger issue. Also though I just feel like with the tools he’ll still be able to get by even without reading plays well.

I also just think he and Casey are like a match made in heaven and perfectly pair together masking the others potential weakness (please don’t f***ing move that guy). I imagine some people envision a Silayev-Nemec pair but I really like the fits better of Luke-Nemec and Silayev-Casey. Nemec has the talent to drive a pair offensively but with his more reserved nature I think he might work best next to a guy like Luke who can really take charge offensively. Nemec doesn’t need to be a guy who constantly has the puck on his stick dancing around to create offense. Nemec would work really well as a more complimentary offpuck guy and fit great with Luke. We saw how incredible they were together as rookies. Then with Casey he has that creativity and ultra aggression offensively that Luke does. He can drive the offense on a 2nd pair with Silayev. He can help be that transition wiz next to Silayev and help him there. On the other hand if Casey’s size and lack of explosiveness becomes a limiting factor defensively then there’s literally not a bigger and more explosive guy out there than Anton Silayev.

Really interesting post.

I will add that I watched a lot of Silayev this year and he's not what I would call, by any means, a player which has decision-making problems with the puck. Silayev's singular caveat is that he can be forced into bad decisions by high-end forechecking. Give him a couple seconds, and Silayev is super-savvy. Get in his face and his blood pressure goes up a bit.

What makes me not worry about this is that it's a common bugaboo for 17/18 year olds playing in professional leagues or against older players. What makes a Zeev Buium so rare is that he's uncommonly cool and composed with two 23-year olds rushing right at him. It's not a weakness of Silayev, but rather a strength -- and an uncommon one -- for Buium.

What should give us a ton of hope for Silayev is that he is far from "error-prone" and has a great combination of reach, hands and speed which he will learn can get him out of all sorts of sticky situations. Once his confidence and experience grows, I expect him to really take off as a transition defender.

As far as Casey goes, I think his skating is a strength. While his open-ice speed is not great (it's still good), his edges and mobility are high-end. Combined with his hands and high-IQ, this makes him incredibly slippery with the puck on his stick. He's also a very good defender, which often goes unappreciated.

There's a lot to like about NJ's top two prospects.

 

[Hisch13r]

Really interesting post.

I will add that I watched a lot of Silayev this year and he's not what I would call, by any means, a player which has decision-making problems with the puck. Silayev's singular caveat is that he can be forced into bad decisions by high-end forechecking. Give him a couple seconds, and Silayev is super-savvy. Get in his face and his blood pressure goes up a bit.

What makes me not worry about this is that it's a common bugaboo for 17/18 year olds playing in professional leagues or against older players. What makes a Zeev Buium so rare is that he's uncommonly cool and composed with two 23-year olds rushing right at him. It's not a weakness of Silayev, but rather a strength -- and an uncommon one -- for Buium.

What should give us a ton of hope for Silayev is that he is far from "error-prone" and has a great combination of reach, hands and speed which he will learn can get him out of all sorts of sticky situations. Once his confidence and experience grows, I expect him to really take off as a transition defender.

As far as Casey goes, I think his skating is a strength. While his open-ice speed is not great (it's still good), his edges and mobility are high-end. Combined with his hands and high-IQ, this makes him incredibly slippery with the puck on his stick. He's also a very good defender, which often goes unappreciated.

There's a lot to like about NJ's top two prospects.

I think whether you call it "decision making" or not is a matter of semantics really. Like I said in a different post it's not a puck skills issue as he can handle and pass the puck. Him having the talent to make better plays but being able to get rushed into bad decisions I think is a "decision making" issue. I do agree that he can take off as a transition guy as he can make the right plays and he has the talent to execute on them. It's just a matter of ironing things out and handling the pressure better. I also said in another post that I think he's going to be a shutdown guy with the talent to transition the puck. Like I doubt he's ever a Marino level puckmover but him being a bigger more physical Marino type seems like a possible outcome

I do agree Casey's skating overall is a strength. His edges are absurd and he's quick. It's just that I can see the overall lack of explosiveness and top end speed could hinder him on the defensive side when he's also not a big guy. It does help that he doesn't fall into the traditional offensive Dman category of not knowing really how to defend. He can definitely defend

 

[Hisch13r]

He’s a teenager so it’s always a question but if he just continues to improve his physical development and gains strength and some weight that doesn’t slow him down it’s hard not to see him as a number 2 playing with an offensively biased guy on a first pair. Maybe he never becomes a one because thr offense holds him back but as long as he plays the sort of defense he already plays and can learn to transition thr puck effectively that’s one heck of a player.

Yeah it's really not hard to see him as at least a #2 caliber guy and if that's where he tops out because the offense never comes then really who gives a shit with the other D we have. With a top 4 of Luke/Silayev/Casey/Nemec that's potentially 4 top pair caliber D and you could essentially have 2 top pairs that are on the ice for 50 minutes a night like how the Hawks ran their top 4. This would be a best case for sure but I look at the 2017 Preds with that f***ing killer top 4 of PK/Ellis/Ekholm/Josi and think these 4 could replicate that type of impact

 

[Guadana]

I would say Nemec/Luke/Silayev/Casey or at least Nemec/Luke/Silayev/Casey. Casey will never be two way guy who will eat as long minutes as Nemec. Nemec in the same time has even as bigger offensive potential as Luke because even without this level of skating he had some better playmaking decisions on the ice. His two way game will help him to be all the hardest minutes eater. But lack of pp time in the first group will limit his ice time and points production. They should find nice balance between rolling of Luke and playmaking of Simon, driving of Luke and defending if Simon. Both already played on the same very good level with different advantages.

Silayev doesn't need to be transition guy at all, with Casey or Nemec as a pair partner he will play his role, if he will develop his offensive game - it will be just bonus option.

On my taste we should think to save Casey because after drafting Silayev Devils found great partner to create strong two way top 4 who can help to cover all the potential problems of Casey and Casey can make all the transitional and playmaking work if Silayev will not be good enough in this part of the game.

I don't see any problem for bow because Casey can easily play 2 years in ahl and find nhl time when the injuries come. And its not like a big problem to play 7 D if he will be very good. Bastian, Foote and the king of hockey mister McDermid are not the reasons why we should limit Casey time on the ice if he will be very good in his role.

 

[Devs3cups]

I would say Nemec/Luke/Silayev/Casey or at least Nemec/Luke/Silayev/Casey. Casey will never be two way guy who will eat as long minutes as Nemec. Nemec in the same time has even as bigger offensive potential as Luke because even without this level of skating he had some better playmaking decisions on the ice. His two way game will help him to be all the hardest minutes eater. But lack of pp time in the first group will limit his ice time and points production. They should find nice balance between rolling of Luke and playmaking of Simon, driving of Luke and defending if Simon. Both already played on the same very good level with different advantages.

Silayev doesn't need to be transition guy at all, with Casey or Nemec as a pair partner he will play his role, if he will develop his offensive game - it will be just bonus option.

On my taste we should think to save Casey because after drafting Silayev Devils found great partner to create strong two way top 4 who can help to cover all the potential problems of Casey and Casey can make all the transitional and playmaking work if Silayev will not be good enough in this part of the game.

I don't see any problem for bow because Casey can easily play 2 years in ahl and find nhl time when the injuries come. And its not like a big problem to play 7 D if he will be very good. Bastian, Foote and the king of hockey mister McDermid are not the reasons why we should limit Casey time on the ice if he will be very good in his role.

Our future on D is looking really good. Exciting stuff. It's already extremely positive with Luke and Nemec. Add Silayev, Casey, Villen, Hatakka, Karpovich, Misyul to the mix? Super, super exciting. Future looks bright.

​

 

[TrufleShufle]

I would say Nemec/Luke/Silayev/Casey or at least Nemec/Luke/Silayev/Casey. Casey will never be two way guy who will eat as long minutes as Nemec. Nemec in the same time has even as bigger offensive potential as Luke because even without this level of skating he had some better playmaking decisions on the ice. His two way game will help him to be all the hardest minutes eater. But lack of pp time in the first group will limit his ice time and points production. They should find nice balance between rolling of Luke and playmaking of Simon, driving of Luke and defending if Simon. Both already played on the same very good level with different advantages.

Silayev doesn't need to be transition guy at all, with Casey or Nemec as a pair partner he will play his role, if he will develop his offensive game - it will be just bonus option.

On my taste we should think to save Casey because after drafting Silayev Devils found great partner to create strong two way top 4 who can help to cover all the potential problems of Casey and Casey can make all the transitional and playmaking work if Silayev will not be good enough in this part of the game.

I don't see any problem for bow because Casey can easily play 2 years in ahl and find nhl time when the injuries come. And its not like a big problem to play 7 D if he will be very good. Bastian, Foote and the king of hockey mister McDermid are not the reasons why we should limit Casey time on the ice if he will be very good in his role.

A Luke and Nemac pair followed by a Silayev and Casey pair who all meet their potential would be soooooo nice.

Plus Silayev and Casey would make for some pretty meme worthy post goal hug pictures.

 

[Xirik]

with his booming shot and his defensive style would a Shea Weber comparison be ascribable?

 

[TBF1972]

I literally couldn’t be any HAPPIER with this pick. I think years down the road, we have the steal of the draft.

number 1 in a redraft. this guy just confirmed it.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

with his booming shot and his defensive style would a Shea Weber comparison be ascribable?

I don't think he has a booming shot from what I've read about him. His strengths are him being a giant and being an A+ skater. He needs to work on parts of his game like any other player but I don't think his offensive skillset is a major weakness. From what posters said on here is that he needs to work on his transition game with the puck coming out of the defensive zone.

Basically he seems to be pretty safe to be an NHL regular but if he improves his offensive play than we might have the best overall defensman of the 2024 Draft.

 

[Hisch13r]

I would say Nemec/Luke/Silayev/Casey or at least Nemec/Luke/Silayev/Casey. Casey will never be two way guy who will eat as long minutes as Nemec. Nemec in the same time has even as bigger offensive potential as Luke because even without this level of skating he had some better playmaking decisions on the ice. His two way game will help him to be all the hardest minutes eater. But lack of pp time in the first group will limit his ice time and points production. They should find nice balance between rolling of Luke and playmaking of Simon, driving of Luke and defending if Simon. Both already played on the same very good level with different advantages.

Silayev doesn't need to be transition guy at all, with Casey or Nemec as a pair partner he will play his role, if he will develop his offensive game - it will be just bonus option.

On my taste we should think to save Casey because after drafting Silayev Devils found great partner to create strong two way top 4 who can help to cover all the potential problems of Casey and Casey can make all the transitional and playmaking work if Silayev will not be good enough in this part of the game.

I don't see any problem for bow because Casey can easily play 2 years in ahl and find nhl time when the injuries come. And its not like a big problem to play 7 D if he will be very good. Bastian, Foote and the king of hockey mister McDermid are not the reasons why we should limit Casey time on the ice if he will be very good in his role.

Obviously we see how Casey looks first but I really think he’ll be good enough as well as steps from Luke/Nemec where it’ll make sense to look to move Dougie next summer rather than 2026 to open up that money to use elsewhere

with his booming shot and his defensive style would a Shea Weber comparison be ascribable?

He doesn’t have a booming shot and Weber skated nowhere near as well as Silayev

 

[Guadana]

Obviously we see how Casey looks first but I really think he’ll be good enough as well as steps from Luke/Nemec where it’ll make sense to look to move Dougie next summer rather than 2026 to open up that money to use elsewhere



He doesn’t have a booming shot and Weber skated nowhere near as well as Silayev

I don’t think we need to move Dougie at least in this two years or even three years until actual deal of Hischier will end. At least “Markstrom tenure” should be maximized. It’s not knock on Casey.

 

[Hisch13r]

I don’t think we need to move Dougie at least in this two years or even three years until actual deal of Hischier will end. At least “Markstrom tenure” should be maximized. It’s not knock on Casey.

I think at least summer by 2026. Paying all Dougie/Luke/Nemec 8+ mil and forcing one of them and/or Casey off of PP units is not going to be the best use of money. Things will be tight with Luke onto his next deal but still you can make it work. I think if Casey’s as good as I think he is though then moving Dougie to use that money up front would be better. The following year I’ll definitely see no reason to sit on Dougie’s deal rather than use that money elsewhere when you should have other guys that can do a good enough job of replacing his value.

 

[Guadana]

I think at least summer by 2026. Paying all Dougie/Luke/Nemec 8+ mil and forcing one of them and Casey off of PP units is not going to be the best use of money. Things will be tight with Luke onto his next deal but still you can make it work. I think if Casey’s as good as I think he is though then moving Dougie to use that money up front would be better. The following year I’ll definitely see no reason to sit on Dougie’s deal rather than use that money elsewhere when you should have other guys that can do a good enough job of replacing his value.

They have Palat to deal away first. Raising cap will help too. So it’s a question of cap of Luke, Simon and Dawson. And how good Gritsyuk will perform, how much money he will achieve.
2026-2027 looks reasonable - it’s a year of the new Nemec deal.

 

[Csonked Out]

I haven’t watched a second of this guy play but I have a question. If you take away his first 8 games of the year how impressive was his season? From everything I’ve read his play had a downward trend through the last two thirds of the year. Is that a cause for concern or just rookie fatigue or what? The trajectory of the year just bothers me.

 

[Clam Jensen]

With a future potential top-5 of Nemo, Luke, Casey, Pesce and the Silkworm, I’m comfortable giving Jim the 6 spot and letting him bait the opponent into arguments in limited sheltered minutes (o-zone starts only and no special teams) as a cheeky distraction.

 

[Hisch13r]

I haven’t watched a second of this guy play but I have a question. If you take away his first 8 games of the year how impressive was his season? From everything I’ve read his play had a downward trend through the last two thirds of the year. Is that a cause for concern or just rookie fatigue or what? The trajectory of the year just bothers me.

I don’t think it was really that his start was better. It’s just that the pucks went in to start the year so people thought he had the offense. Then the pucks stopped going in and people acted like there was a big difference in his play. He was really just the same guy. Massive shutdown guy with elite skating that really does not think about offense ever. I do think there might’ve been a slight tick down in the amount of offense he tried to create but that’s probably due to him being a 17 year old trying to survive in a pro league that notoriously doesn’t play kids much and some fatigue. I don’t see any reason to be worried as the offense he provides is really quite irrelevant to us

 

[Guadana]

I haven’t watched a second of this guy play but I have a question. If you take away his first 8 games of the year how impressive was his season? From everything I’ve read his play had a downward trend through the last two thirds of the year. Is that a cause for concern or just rookie fatigue or what? The trajectory of the year just bothers me.

No one cares. He was drafted for his defensive game, not for his offensive spurt in the beginning of the season.

 

[Csonked Out]

I don’t think it was really that his start was better. It’s just that the pucks went in to start the year so people thought he had the offense. Then the pucks stopped going in and people acted like there was a big difference in his play. He was really just the same guy. Massive shutdown guy with elite skating that really does not think about offense ever. I do think there might’ve been a slight tick down in the amount of offense he tried to create but that’s probably due to him being a 17 year old trying to survive in a pro league that notoriously doesn’t play kids much and some fatigue. I don’t see any reason to be worried as the offense he provides is really quite irrelevant to us

Thanks! I have no problem drafting Russians other than they are damn near impossible to watch.

No one cares. He was drafted for his defensive game, not for his offensive spurt in the beginning of the season.

I was asking on his overall play and that includes the defensive side. Tough to know a defensive game when I haven’t watched a second of him play.