F Dmitri Ovchinnikov - Metallurg Novokuznetsk, VHL (2020, 137th, TOR; traded to MIN released)

[Kshahdoo]

He destroyed the MHL, his point production compared to his teammates was absurd. They don't have a VHL team so I don't know what more he could have done to earn KHL time. Maybe if he was in a better organization things would've gone differently.

He played 17 KHL games this season. Gritsyuk was at the same age last year and played 12 KHL games. Now Gritsyuk is one of Avangard's leaders and plays at the Olympics - that's kind of kids I love.

 

[SoundAndFury]

He played 17 KHL games this season. Gritsyuk was at the same age last year and played 12 KHL games. Now Gritsyuk is one of Avangard's leaders and plays at the Olympics - that's kind of kids I love.

Gritsyuk also had an opportunity to play for one of the best VHL teams between those KHL games, Ovchinnikov's only option was to continue spinning wheels in the MHL.

I understand the usual "kids shouldn't leave to NA" sentiment but his situation was really as tough and unproductive as it can be.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Gritsyuk also had an opportunity to play for one of the best VHL teams between those KHL games, Ovchinnikov's only option was to continue spinning wheels in the MHL.

I understand the usual "kids shouldn't leave to NA" sentiment but his situation was really as tough and unproductive as it can be.

Man, Ovchinnikov is behind Trikozov in PPG in the MHL this season. I mean 17 year old Trikozov. Not just Michkov and Yurov, but Trikozov. Who's good of course but isn't considered even top15 prospect of the draft.

 

[Morgs]

Man, Ovchinnikov is behind Trikozov in PPG in the MHL this season. I mean 17 year old Trikozov. Not just Michkov and Yurov, but Trikozov. Who's good of course but isn't considered even top15 prospect of the draft.

Have you seen his MHL team? He's leading the team in points and 2nd place has 30GP on him. It's not exactly an ideal situation no matter what he does.

It was such a bad situation even by the end of last year I was crossing my fingers he would be sent to a new org. If not, the AHL is easily the next best place for him right now.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Have you seen his MHL team? He's leading the team in points and 2nd place has 30GP on him. It's not exactly an ideal situation no matter what he does.

It was such a bad situation even by the end of last year I was crossing my fingers he would be sent to a new org. If not, the AHL is easily the next best place for him right now.

Here is Trikozov's MHL team. Omskie Yastreby at eliteprospects.com

 

[Morgs]

Here is Trikozov's MHL team. Omskie Yastreby at eliteprospects.com

And I have Trikozov as a 1st round pick, hovering around 20 right now. I'm failing to see the point when it comes to Ovchinnikov's situation.

 

[Kshahdoo]

And I have Trikozov as a 1st round pick, hovering around 20 right now. I'm failing to see the point when it comes to Ovchinnikov's situation.

Trikozov's team isn't full of MHL stars either, and he's still ahead of Ovchinnikov in PPG being 2 full years younger. Ovchinnikov hasn't made any significant progress this season, if any progress at all. He hasn't had any major injures, so the only explanation is some attitude problems. And now he's moving to NA and it looks like Sibir isn't very upset.

 

[LeafChief]

Trikozov's team isn't full of MHL stars either, and he's still ahead of Ovchinnikov in PPG being 2 full years younger. Ovchinnikov hasn't made any significant progress this season, if any progress at all. He hasn't had any major injures, so the only explanation is some attitude problems. And now he's moving to NA and it looks like Sibir isn't very upset.

Trikozov plays on a MUCH better team. He's also estimated to be a 1st round pick. Not sure how this has any correlation to Ovchinnikov.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Man, Ovchinnikov is behind Trikozov in PPG in the MHL this season. I mean 17 year old Trikozov. Not just Michkov and Yurov, but Trikozov. Who's good of course but isn't considered even top15 prospect of the draft.

That's not the point. The point is that Ovchinnikov's progression clearly stagnated. Whatever Sibir was doing just wasn't working. His scoring pace only saw a marginal increase over the last 3 years, he didn't make the WJC squad and was in a really tough spot going forward. It doesn't matter what you think about him as a person or that there is some 17 yo outlier who is supposed to tell something about the situation.

He needed the change. Same way Dorofeyev did. If you think it's their fault that they need it - fair enough, play the blame game. But it doesn't change the fact that it wasn't working, whoever is at fault, and making that change is the right call.

 

[chamchibap]

Trikozov's team isn't full of MHL stars either, and he's still ahead of Ovchinnikov in PPG being 2 full years younger. Ovchinnikov hasn't made any significant progress this season, if any progress at all. He hasn't had any major injures, so the only explanation is some attitude problems. And now he's moving to NA and it looks like Sibir isn't very upset.

i doubt things are as simple or as black and white as you suggest. Isn’t it possible that he talked with Sibir and discussed his KHL future with the reality that the VHL situation isn’t the best with them? Maybe they know MHL isn’t helping him develop but can’t see him as a KHL regular this season. Maybe this discussion has been going on for a while and Sibir tried to find him another situation but couldn’t with the pandemic situation.

is there any evidence of an attitude problem or a history of speaking out against his playing time? I haven’t seen anything, but North American coverage is obviously lacking

 

[Kshahdoo]

i doubt things are as simple or as black and white as you suggest. Isn’t it possible that he talked with Sibir and discussed his KHL future with the reality that the VHL situation isn’t the best with them? Maybe they know MHL isn’t helping him develop but can’t see him as a KHL regular this season. Maybe this discussion has been going on for a while and Sibir tried to find him another situation but couldn’t with the pandemic situation.

is there any evidence of an attitude problem or a history of speaking out against his playing time? I haven’t seen anything, but North American coverage is obviously lacking

The only thing I see is Sibir fans don't care a lot about him in social nets. I'm not a KHL insider after all. It was different a couple of years ago (I mean fans attitude to him).

 

[Zine]

i doubt things are as simple or as black and white as you suggest. Isn’t it possible that he talked with Sibir and discussed his KHL future with the reality that the VHL situation isn’t the best with them? Maybe they know MHL isn’t helping him develop but can’t see him as a KHL regular this season. Maybe this discussion has been going on for a while and Sibir tried to find him another situation but couldn’t with the pandemic situation.

is there any evidence of an attitude problem or a history of speaking out against his playing time? I haven’t seen anything, but North American coverage is obviously lacking

It's likely an issue of money and contracts, he wasn't worth the investment. Sibir signed him to an extension this past offseason in expectation he'd help the team. And god knows they needed the help. He just didn't make the most of the opportunity. He's been a big disappointment.

And the VHL wasn't an option. The affiliate Sibir uses is like 2000 miles away. Looks like Sibir thought he was good enough to keep around if they needed a last second call up or he started to prove himself at KHL level.

I just hope he doesn't get lost in the shuffle in the AHL. He's not gonna get the individualized attention he does at Sibir as the top young player. Too many other youngsters in the mix. If the issue is ice time, how do you give ice time to all these youngsters you guarantee it to? I mean at some point you have to prove yourself.

But hey maybe a change of scenery will be good. I guess we'll find out. I wish him the best.

 

[X66]

He destroyed the MHL, his point production compared to his teammates was absurd. They don't have a VHL team so I don't know what more he could have done to earn KHL time. Maybe if he was in another organization things would've gone differently.

It has nothing to do with what you're saying, it's all about his guts, okay?

 

[LeafChief]

It's likely an issue of money and contracts, he wasn't worth the investment. Sibir signed him to an extension this past offseason in expectation he'd help the team. And god knows they needed the help. He just didn't make the most of the opportunity. He's been a big disappointment.

And the VHL wasn't an option. The affiliate Sibir uses is like 2000 miles away. Looks like Sibir thought he was good enough to keep around if they needed a last second call up or he started to prove himself at KHL level.

I just hope he doesn't get lost in the shuffle in the AHL. He's not gonna get the individualized attention he does at Sibir as the top young player. Too many other youngsters in the mix. If the issue is ice time, how do you give ice time to all these youngsters you guarantee it to? I mean at some point you have to prove yourself.

But hey maybe a change of scenery will be good. I guess we'll find out. I wish him the best.

The VHL team being so far away is super unfortunate for his development. That probably would have been the best place for him right now.

The Marlies will give him a lot of attention. Hopefully he can succeed. We have a lot of Russians there right now (Abramov, SDA, Gogolev) so he will have some people to help him acclimatize.

 

[Morgs]

Look at that. Marlies the rest of the year and Sibir next season. Maybe we shouldn't have written him off as a guy with attitude issues & that Sibir didn't want him in the org?

We all know they could use him after all.

 

[LeafChief]

Look at that. Marlies the rest of the year and Sibir next season. Maybe we shouldn't have written him off as a guy with attitude issues & that Sibir didn't want him in the org?

We all know they could use him after all.

But why would Sibir want him back if the fans on social media hate him and don't care at all that he's leaving? I also heard he has a terrible attitude, right?



Can't wait to see the spinzone on this one now. I guess his attitude adjusted overnight. Will the fans in Sibir accept him?!

 

[SoundAndFury]

I mean him going back next season doesn't make most of the things we talked about wrong. Fans (and probably organization overall) soured on him because he didn't have any impact as a supposedly top talent (by Sibir's standards). That they aren't even keeping him for the playoffs also speaks volumes. Nobody in this thread was implying there is some major beef between him and Sibir.

 

[Isaac Nootin]

I usually don't like kids who can't make the KHL so they move to NA. It usually means they have no guts.

I'll let Ovchinnkov know. He's going to be crushed

 

[3 Minute Minor]

But why would Sibir want him back if the fans on social media hate him and don't care at all that he's leaving? I also heard he has a terrible attitude, right?



Can't wait to see the spinzone on this one now. I guess his attitude adjusted overnight. Will the fans in Sibir accept him?!

When and where did you hear he had an attitude issue?

This seems to have suddenly appeared out of thin air on page 5 of this thread.



I would be interested to know how many Russians have played in the KHL on loan from NHL teams. I kind of agree with the theory that Russians seem to need KHL success to successfully transition to the NHL... but I wonder how many times KHL teams prioritize their own teams future over a prospect that has already committed to North America? At a certain point you don't really lose anything by bringing a Russian over if their KHL team no longer has their best interest at heart.

Amirov & Ovchinnikov are the first 2 Leafs I've seen go through this process and it hasn't been working out great with Amirov so far. It'll be interesting if a similar story plays out with Ovchinnikov

 

[LeafChief]

When and where did you hear he had an attitude issue?

This seems to have suddenly appeared out of thin air on page 5 of this thread.



I would be interested to know how many Russians have played in the KHL on loan from NHL teams. I kind of agree with the theory that Russians seem to need KHL success to successfully transition to the NHL... but I wonder how many times KHL teams prioritize their own teams future over a prospect that has already committed to North America? At a certain point you don't really lose anything by bringing a Russian over if their KHL team no longer has their best interest at heart.

Amirov & Ovchinnikov are the first 2 Leafs I've seen go through this process and it hasn't been working out great with Amirov so far. It'll be interesting if a similar story plays out with Ovchinnikov

I was being facetious. The poster on the previous page simply made it up and tried to pass it off as fact.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

I was being facetious. The poster on the previous page simply made it up and tried to pass it off as fact.

ah my bad, misread your body language

 

[Zine]

When and where did you hear he had an attitude issue?

This seems to have suddenly appeared out of thin air on page 5 of this thread.



I would be interested to know how many Russians have played in the KHL on loan from NHL teams. I kind of agree with the theory that Russians seem to need KHL success to successfully transition to the NHL... but I wonder how many times KHL teams prioritize their own teams future over a prospect that has already committed to North America? At a certain point you don't really lose anything by bringing a Russian over if their KHL team no longer has their best interest at heart.

Amirov & Ovchinnikov are the first 2 Leafs I've seen go through this process and it hasn't been working out great with Amirov so far. It'll be interesting if a similar story plays out with Ovchinnikov

The KHL isn't the NHL. Unless it's a SKA or whoever, teams don't have unlimited budgets or tons of elite prospects in the system.
If a player is good enough he'll play. Young players are given opportunities but they're not gonna be handed roster spots because the NHL fans want them to. They have to earn it.
That said, because of the smaller prospect talent pool, the elite youngsters tend not to get lost in the shuffle like they can in the AHL. Going to the AHL is a monumental risk; and that's not even taking into consideration the cultural adaptation.

I mean a cash strapped team like Sibir would have LOVED it if Ovechinnikov couldve have contributed to the team. They wouldnt need to waste money on an import like Lipon to shore-up the offense.
It appears Ovchinnikov wants to taste the AHL this year, then try to make Sibir next year. Good luck to him I suppose.
Amirov is a different situation. Horrible year lost to injury. Salavat coach said it's concussion related.

 

[SoundAndFury]

I mean a cash strapped team like Sibir would have LOVED it if Ovechinnikov couldve have contributed to the team. They wouldnt need to waste money on an import like Lipon to shore-up the offense.

Amirov is a different situation. Horrible year lost to injury. Salavat coach said it's consussion related.

This is absolutely right in both cases. Other than teams that don't care about the money (like SKA and arguably CSKA) there is no room for conspiracy theories. Teams like Sibir, or even Salavat, understand perfectly well there is tremendous value to be gained from their young guys doing well.

The same goes for Amirov's situation. I don't get how there are so many Leafs fans going around believing it's somehow Salavat's fault how his season is going.

 

[Killerjas]

Bizarre choice, he has no business playing in the AHL already. Please don't rush him

 

[Caser]