F Alexander Rykov - Chelmet Chelyabinsk, VHL (2023, 100th, CAR)

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I'm a pretty big Rykov fan, actually. He's my 4th ranked Russian for this year - behind Michkov, Gulyayev, and Simashev.

Defensive game is really intriguing, especially looking back at his D-1, it is rare for a player of that age to be playing as responsibly as he was. I really liked his first game of the year, there's clear issues with his skill and that does limit his offensive upside right now, but he has good playmaking habits that just need to become more consistent. A Fyodor Svechkov type of player.
 
Picked up his first VHL point with an assist today.

Pretty impressive for him to start the season as a VHL regular (for a good KHL org - not like he is doing this on Tambov or something) - especially considering he's a July '05 birthdate which makes him pretty young for this draft. Simashev has been in the KHL and Gulyayev has been split between the KHL and VHL but outside of that - this is pretty advanced stuff for a 17 year-old (though there is a kid on Yugra, Svishchyov, also a VHL regular at the same age). I would think this speaks well of his overall game as mentioned.

Svechkov had a really impressive VHL and Team Russia U18 season at age 17 so I'll be eager to see if Rykov can elevate to that level.
 
Pretty impressive for him to start the season as a VHL regular (for a good KHL org - not like he is doing this on Tambov or something) - especially considering he's a July '05 birthdate which makes him pretty young for this draft. Simashev has been in the KHL and Gulyayev has been split between the KHL and VHL but outside of that - this is pretty advanced stuff for a 17 year-old (though there is a kid on Yugra, Svishchyov, also a VHL regular at the same age). I would think this speaks well of his overall game as mentioned.

Svechkov had a really impressive VHL and Team Russia U18 season at age 17 so I'll be eager to see if Rykov can elevate to that level.
From what I've seen of Svishchyov, he doesn't really belong at the VHL level. Rykov is definitely making the case that he does. I expected him to be given a role with Chelmet just because of how responsible he is for a player of his age. Throw him out in any situation and he'll work his butt off to get the team possession -- it'll just take him some time to get more comfortable with the puck at this level.
 
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I compared him to some Russian VHLers who were drafted in 1st round in recent years.

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]
KHL
[/TD]

[TD]
VHL
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#9 Kravtsov[/TD]
[TD]35 GP - 7(4+3) TP[/TD]
[TD]9 GP - 7(4+3) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#10 Nichushkin[/TD]
[TD]18 GP - 6(4+2) TP[/TD]
[TD]15 GP - 10(8+2) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#10 Podkolzin[/TD]
[TD]3 GP - 0 TP[/TD]
[TD]14 GP - 5(2+3) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#15 Amirov[/TD]
[TD]21 GP - 2(0+2) TP[/TD]
[TD]5 GP - 3(1+2) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#19 Svechkov[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]38 GP - 15(5+10) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#20 Miroshnichenko[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]31 GP - 16(10+6) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#31 Kostin[/TD]
[TD]8 GP - 0 TP[/TD]
[TD]9 GP - 1(1+0) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Alex Rykov (half a season)[/TD]
[TD]1 GP - 0 TP[/TD]
[TD]15 GP - 10(4+6) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
I compared him to some Russian VHLers who were drafted in 1st round in recent years.

[TABLE=collapse]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]

[TD]
KHL
[/TD]

[TD]
VHL
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#9 Kravtsov[/TD]
[TD]35 GP - 7(4+3) TP[/TD]
[TD]9 GP - 7(4+3) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#10 Nichushkin[/TD]
[TD]18 GP - 6(4+2) TP[/TD]
[TD]15 GP - 10(8+2) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#10 Podkolzin[/TD]
[TD]3 GP - 0 TP[/TD]
[TD]14 GP - 5(2+3) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#15 Amirov[/TD]
[TD]21 GP - 2(0+2) TP[/TD]
[TD]5 GP - 3(1+2) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#19 Svechkov[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]38 GP - 15(5+10) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#20 Miroshnichenko[/TD]
[TD]-[/TD]
[TD]31 GP - 16(10+6) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]#31 Kostin[/TD]
[TD]8 GP - 0 TP[/TD]
[TD]9 GP - 1(1+0) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Alex Rykov (half a season)[/TD]
[TD]1 GP - 0 TP[/TD]
[TD]15 GP - 10(4+6) TP[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Really impressive - especially if the bones of his two-way/defensive game are already good.

Lack of exposure this year is going to cause a lot of Russian prospects to drop and teams like Carolina who aren’t afraid to look at the long-term big picture when drafting are going to have a field day sniping gems all over the place. Michkov, Gulyayev, Simashev, Rykov, But - seems like it could be a really, really good class.
 
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Rykov has some good speed, but a really wide skating stride and some noise when getting up to speed. He’s an involved player defensively but I think it’s more just puck following rather than anticipatory. He’s decent on the boards but not physically strong yet. He’s got good hands in tight spaces but often doesn’t know what to do after making his first move, causing him to lose the handle and kill rushes.

His shot is a driving factor for his game. It’s excellent. Needs to work on getting into space more but when it gets off it’s powerful and accurate.

Overall feels like a late second rounder with some protectable qualities but needs improvements to really find himself in an NHL lineup. His production is actually really good compared to other draft eligibles in recent years in the VHL. His lack of exposure in the back half of the year and internationally likely gets him pushed down the draft board.
 
Anyone that has watched him this season have any updates?

I really scratch my head as to how this dude fell to the 4th round. His VHL production last year, and now this year are some of the best from his respective age.

Him this year compared to other U19 players in the past:
1701975428188.png


Then during his draft year for U18 players:
1701975460766.png


Chibrikov off to a great start in his NA career as well.
 

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