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

[TrufleShufle]

Pics or we’re all coming over with snacks that leave crumbs.

 

[MasterofGrond]

Pics or we’re all coming over with snacks that leave crumbs.

I’ll post some when I’m home

 

[MasterofGrond]

 

[Hisch13r]

Crunched a guy for a boarding. Wasn't through the numbers though. The guys left shoulder was next to the boards and Silayev hit him through like the backside of the guys right shoulder and drove him face first into the boards.

 

[evnted]

Crunched a guy for a boarding. Wasn't through the numbers though. The guys left shoulder was next to the boards and Silayev hit him through like the backside of the guys right shoulder and drove him face first into the boards.

mustve read my report from last game

 

[My3Sons]

Crunched a guy for a boarding. Wasn't through the numbers though. The guys left shoulder was next to the boards and Silayev hit him through like the backside of the guys right shoulder and drove him face first into the boards.

So he cheapshotted someone? Can he play with NJ starting tonight?

 

[Hisch13r]

So he cheapshotted someone? Can he play with NJ starting tonight?

Thing is it wasn’t a cheapshot. He seems like a bit of a gentle giant. He’s not like Dougie or anything as he will will throw the body around often but he doesn’t have a mean streak in him

 

[My3Sons]

Thing is it wasn’t a cheapshot. He seems like a bit of a gentle giant. He’s not like Dougie or anything as he will will throw the body around often but he doesn’t have a mean streak in him

Well he can stay in the KHL for now in that case.

 

[evnted]

this was good. i could pick apart a couple minor plays, but i saw things i liked all over the ice

• took my hard to play against critique to heart, boarded the crap out of a guy in the 1st (and i dont think he really went that hard on him either lol)
• nice off zone play on the ensuing shift. took the puck down the right boards and cut to the middle for a decent shot attempt. confident possession. couple other pinches today (and an extended carry off an entry) that didnt really go anywhere but showed good willingness
• specifically liked his intent to follow up on a rebound opportunity late 1st. saw his teammate intercept the puck, recognized he had space in front of him, and booked it to the net. couldnt get a stick on the puck but he was right outside the crease for a chance. great idea/awareness here
• on the NKH goal he effectively ended up double covering a guy, but i dont think its on him. Fs were really light on the backcheck and let a streaking attacker shoot from the slot, and from silayev's pov i dont think he trusted that his partner was gonna cut off the backdoor opportunity in time
• defensive stick is always good but he was straight money with it today, clean contact on first poke attempts over and over
• also seemed extra sturdy/proactively physical. at least 5 separate instances of an attacker trying to challenge him and winding up on the ice. really steady/more contact focused outside the crease, too

we're still not at the execution/results stage yet, but this is the type of game you look at and start to think his projection could be greater than just defensive specialist

 

[Hisch13r]

this was good. i could pick apart a couple minor plays, but i saw things i liked all over the ice

• took my hard to play against critique to heart, boarded the crap out of a guy in the 1st (and i dont think he really went that hard on him either lol)
• nice off zone play on the ensuing shift. took the puck down the right boards and cut to the middle for a decent shot attempt. confident possession. couple other pinches today (and an extended carry off an entry) that didnt really go anywhere but showed good willingness
• specifically liked his intent to follow up on a rebound opportunity late 1st. saw his teammate intercept the puck, recognized he had space in front of him, and booked it to the net. couldnt get a stick on the puck but he was right outside the crease for a chance. great idea/awareness here
• on the NKH goal he effectively ended up double covering a guy, but i dont think its on him. Fs were really light on the backcheck and let a streaking attacker shoot from the slot, and from silayev's pov i dont think he trusted that his partner was gonna cut off the backdoor opportunity in time
• defensive stick is always good but he was straight money with it today, clean contact on first poke attempts over and over
• also seemed extra sturdy/proactively physical. at least 5 separate instances of an attacker trying to challenge him and winding up on the ice. really steady/more contact focused outside the crease, too

we're still not at the execution/results stage yet, but this is the type of game you look at and start to think his projection could be greater than just defensive specialist

I only caught the first today. There was another play I liked off his pinches. I think it was either just him in the zone or him and one teammate and he broke up an exit right inside their blue line which lead to some extended zone time for Torpedo as the rest of his teammates entered the zone

 

[KaraLupin]

Thing is it wasn’t a cheapshot. He seems like a bit of a gentle giant. He’s not like Dougie or anything as he will will throw the body around often but he doesn’t have a mean streak in him

How many hits a game does he register?

 

[Hisch13r]

How many hits a game does he register?

Leads Torpedo in hits and is at 1.5 a game

 

[My3Sons]

Leads Torpedo in hits and is at 1.5 a game

What are the chances he would wrap his stick around Cernak's throat after a big hit on Bratt? If the answer is zero he can marinate some more where he is. If the answer is he'd find Cernak on the walk to the team bus and shiv him then get him on a plane.

 

[Hisch13r]

Couple of solid carries into the zone in the 1st when he didn't have teammate support. Didn't really like either of his decisions once he got into the zone though. First one he took a pretty non threatening shot from the dot. Second he went in basically 1 on 5 from his own zone. Took it to his backhand and sent a weak shot wide. Both instances the other team quickly turned play back up ice the other way. On both occasions I wish he either drove hard to the net or stalled for time until his teammates entered the zone.

Could've made a better play on the first GA. Puck got dumped into this corner and he just chopped the puck up the boards. Salavat recovered it and scored shortly after

 

[Hisch13r]

Awful play all around on the 4th GA. Faceoff in the NZ is won back to him and he chips one in the air off the boards rather than to his teammate. It gives control to Salavat. Then there's a delayed call on his teammate and Silayev lazily tries to touch the puck. A Salavat forward beats him to a puck he had no business getting to first. They keep control for a while in the OZ then throw a shot on from the point that goes in with Silayev just standing next to the screener doing nothing to him at all.

 

[Hisch13r]

If I were to ignore the GAs I thought it was a solid game. His most involved game offensively. He might have hit double digits in shot attempts. Most of them weren't great though and I think his game from the point is still too primitive with him generally defaulting to throwing the puck on net immediately after he gets it. Was set up for a nice chance in the high slot as the trailer. Couldn't tell if he missed the net or the goalie got a piece with the shaft of his stick.

 

[evnted]

If I were to ignore the GAs I thought it was a solid game. His most involved game offensively. He might have hit double digits in shot attempts. Most of them weren't great though and I think his game from the point is still too primitive with him generally defaulting to throwing the puck on net immediately after he gets it. Was set up for a nice chance in the high slot as the trailer. Couldn't tell if he missed the net or the goalie got a piece with the shaft of his stick.

could only loosely follow along today but this checks out. think hes showing signs of more extended carries/ideas beyond just shooting (last game had a crazy one), but still a work in progress

only other thing id add is i think the forecheck pressure got him a couple times even beyond that first goal, Ufa was ready for him to chip it up the boards. now, TOR backcheckers werent exactly hustling to cover it either, but he's still gotta know if the options are getting cut off

and man that 4th goal lol a very...get-me-off-the-ice type shift. happy with how he responded in the 3rd at least. wasnt sure if he was gonna go timid/hyper tight to his net in response and was pleasantly surprised he was still taking chances (honestly some of his best, too)

 

[evnted]

been too long. busy schedule for me, plus silayev sat a few games (like he did last month)

• quicker decisions with the puck today. rewarded with an early secondary. passing plays not as reliant on time/space to operate even though he was still scanning options. got in trouble at times (nothing glaring, just some clears -> turnovers per usual), but he was jump starting breakouts more/not just prioritizing D-D options that can slow the pace of play
• showed more interest in challenging on shots directly rather than teeing up redirect opportunities. less predictable. shot had good power and wasnt only kept low to the ice, although he did misfire a number of times. good with his body positioning/opening up to make the most of his attempts, too. normally can look a little timid/hurried when he's lobbing a puck from the point
• still good with crease clearing/boxing out opportunities in tight. hes not punishingly physical (its more of like...a powerful lean than it is outright jabbing at guys), but hes been better with proactive contact/not just tying up sticks
• stops good per usual. good urgency, defensive stick was aggressive, etc. pretty steady game
• special teams deployment felt really light today, although i appreciate that his one big chunk of pk time came late in the 3rd in a 1-1 game
• saw 2 shifts in ot, both were tremendously high tempo. first: thought he chased the puck carrier too hard in his own zone. didnt support net front, doubled up on one of the attackers. now it did work, these guys didnt have many options with him on top of them, but thats one mistake away from a goal against. second: fantastic poke (and pick up) right around the opp blueline to get a strong possession started off the forced turnover. little bit later on great idea to crash the net for a cross crease opportunity that ultimately didnt connect

compared to last viewing from a few weeks ago, seeing more puck distribution than possession, but a common denominator of continuing to start things himself. good energy today, too, perhaps a result of the couple games off (he did play on monday in case it sounds like this was his first one back). wasnt so much an issue in the previous game i saw, those were largely good viewings, but hed have off moments where he got outworked or went lax on a play

 

[evnted]

felt like a very mature game today

• smart decisions on the puck. didnt try unnecessarily risky breakout passes, knew when to delay vs send it up quickly, perfectly content to dump the puck in off a carry in transition, etc.
• even off puck i thought his pinches were tactical, he was great at dropping back, he didnt over commit on challenges or collapse on his net too much. killed a 2 on 1 early thanks to his great timing and confidence to step up for a poke
• trend of higher intensity net-front defense continues to hold. being much more proactive about it. not so much fending off forecheckers as he is actively keeping them away. mix of physical play and a lotta stickchecks (which is funny at his size/reach since the forward basically winds up holding their stick straight up in the air lol)
• puck battle support stood out today. not talking about actively fighting for pucks (which hes been good at), rather, when he wasnt engaged, i thought his willingness to go to the boards and dig pucks out and/or actively carry them away from danger was quite good and not something i feel i always see
• physical play down low/along the boards was also good. calling it punishing is too generous, but he was hitting to make an impact (and i think DMN took note of it, too, dont always see silayev exchanging words with guys after the whistle)
• hes next level aggressive in ot. first shift, barrelled through defenders off the rush and crashed the net looking for a tap in (and when i say crashed the net i mean this goon was straight up standing in the crease lol). second shift, good pressure in high ice to force a turnover, led the exit, and dished it over to his teammate to take it up for the winner. kept up with the rush and made himself an option back door as well
• since i have to find something to complain about, it feels like, particularly lately, if he notices that he and a teammate are about to double up on someone, he hesitates. that momentary freeze up when hes debating on whether or not to follow through with covering the guy is when attackers can get open

overall, though, quite good today. maybe not an exciting game, but one you watch and say, oh yea, he can play a lot of games in this league

 

[My3Sons]

felt like a very mature game today

• smart decisions on the puck. didnt try unnecessarily risky breakout passes, knew when to delay vs send it up quickly, perfectly content to dump the puck in off a carry in transition, etc.
• even off puck i thought his pinches were tactical, he was great at dropping back, he didnt over commit on challenges or collapse on his net too much. killed a 2 on 1 early thanks to his great timing and confidence to step up for a poke
• trend of higher intensity net-front defense continues to hold. being much more proactive about it. not so much fending off forecheckers as he is actively keeping them away. mix of physical play and a lotta stickchecks (which is funny at his size/reach since the forward basically winds up holding their stick straight up in the air lol)
• puck battle support stood out today. not talking about actively fighting for pucks (which hes been good at), rather, when he wasnt engaged, i thought his willingness to go to the boards and dig pucks out and/or actively carry them away from danger was quite good and not something i feel i always see
• physical play down low/along the boards was also good. calling it punishing is too generous, but he was hitting to make an impact (and i think DMN took note of it, too, dont always see silayev exchanging words with guys after the whistle)
• hes next level aggressive in ot. first shift, barrelled through defenders off the rush and crashed the net looking for a tap in (and when i say crashed the net i mean this goon was straight up standing in the crease lol). second shift, good pressure in high ice to force a turnover, led the exit, and dished it over to his teammate to take it up for the winner. kept up with the rush and made himself an option back door as well
• since i have to find something to complain about, it feels like, particularly lately, if he notices that he and a teammate are about to double up on someone, he hesitates. that momentary freeze up when hes debating on whether or not to follow through with covering the guy is when attackers can get open

overall, though, quite good today. maybe not an exciting game, but one you watch and say, oh yea, he can play a lot of games in this league

as always, thanks so much for sharing your observations. He sounds like a great defender in the making. He should be an excellent foil for Casey or Nemec in a few years.

 

[Devils731]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1856766487886712963

He does look like he’s a problem with open ice. He can cover a lot of ground with his feet and with his length but it’s also hard to stop him from going to where he wants.

 

[My3Sons]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1856766487886712963

He does look like he’s a problem with open ice. He can cover a lot of ground with his feet and with his length but it’s also hard to stop him from going to where he wants.

he is very mobile and fluid in his skating. Really impressive at his age and size.

 

[Xirik]

It's nice that I can easily know which player is Silayev is on the ice because he's a giant.

 

[evnted]

didnt get to watch as closely today but wasnt gonna miss silayev vs gritsyuk

• liked his composure. ska was pretty high tempo and it was giving him/torpedo some issue. silayev had to work to keep up at times, and while his coverage wasnt flawless as a result, he still showed great intensity, and i didnt really see those panic plays/breakdowns he can sometimes have on recovery attempts (even when his own team was misplaying things)
• his timing/hand-eye stood out today (i dont know how else to describe it lol). felt like he was holding play at the blue line more, thought he got more touches in the neutral zone, even defensively he had a couple nice moments where he settled a mid air puck and got it out without much issue. dont think he was doing anything new from an intent pov, more so the execution seemed better
• really good off zone involvement/activations. had many (yes, many) dangerous shot attempts including one sent juuuust over the crossbar while trailing off the rush. barely ever seeing those uncomfortable looking floaters from the point anymore, these are legitimate scoring chances
• got a little feisty in this one and boy did i love it. ska attacker got him in the back of the leg or something and it kinda set him off. heavy, heavy box outs in front of the crease, even bodied a guy along the boards at one point. frustration was more focused on the guy who did it than on the game in general, but seeing it come out in any capacity is fun

i liked this viewing. maybe not his best defensively (although torpedo never really looked in it to begin with) but he stayed with it and took it upon himself to backstop a lot of the offensive attack as the game went on. had a sneaking suspicion the numbers would look good and im glad i checked: #1 on the team in time on attack (F or D). it sure felt like it

gritsyuk had some good looks too. couple dangerous shot attempts early. liked the positioning/awareness. kinda got careless with the puck at times but still largely good

 

[evnted]

little bit of a quicker review today

• standout day with his stickwork. dont want it to seem like its not good if im not highlighting it, but this was another viewing where he kept getting touches on everything
• SPR was baiting him out from the net front a bit and they got chances out of it. basically, hed stick with his man, the F would start drifting up/away from the net, and SPR would be able to get pass attempts through the now-open low slot. the man on man coverage was perfectly fine, but this was a rare instance of him needing to show better defensive awareness to recognize these options forming behind him
• surprising level of poise on the puck. couple more extended carries than hes had as of late, picking smart lanes to challenge on breakouts. saw one play where he accidentally cut back into the ref and fumbled the puck and i was ready for it to be an immediate scoring chance against but silayev quickly corraled it, spun back around, and made a heads up pass out of the zone despite being under pressure

extremely dry in the 3rd, which is to be expected since TOR was up by so much. i appreciate that silayev's approach to offense respects game situations (ie you notice i really only rave about his contributions in losses/comebacks)

regrettably did not have the time to also watch orlov closely. skating, of course, stood out as he was constantly a threat in transition and very difficult to shake one on one. thought he was playing a little high defensively at times for my taste