F Rodion Amirov (2020, 15th, TOR) - tragically passed away due to brain tumor 8/14/23

[Knies iT]

At some point the Leafs are going to need to make the transition the Lightning did and get very serious about adding heavy playoff style players. Let's just say Amirov is not that. He's wiry and not very good on the wall even against his peers.

What does that have to do with Amirov? You select BPA every time and Amirov was exactly that.

The Leafs should take after Tampa's 1st round drafting and prioritize guys like Foote, Howden, Namestnikov, Connolly, Ashton, Koekkoek and move away from high-upside skill like DeAngelo. If the Leafs want to make that transition to a heavier approach, they'll do so via trade/FA (Coleman, Goodrow, Cernak, etc.). They've already begun that transformation by bringing in Muzzin, Clifford*, Simmonds, Thornton, Bogosian, Mikheyev, Anderson, etc.

Amirov's board play is fine in the KHL. He needs to fill out physically but his possession game down low is a strength for his age and he shows a willingness to fly into the corners without hesitation. He's not a punisher but his motor and puck protection are hard to handle. The only standout "weakness" or area for improvement would be his assertiveness/hunger to take over shift-to-shift.

At peak physical maturity he could realistically be 6'1" 190lbs.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

It's a tiring cliche because just about every kid needs to add a lot of muscle, and almost all of them do.

But if you bother to read this is clearly a comment about his performance on the wall vs his peers. It's not about him not being ready to play in the NHL.

I'm responding to a comment that implied that Amirov has zero weaknesses, it's an invitation for nuance. Be less offended please.

tbh I don't think your take is very good regardless of Amirovs age or weight. Although I'm assuming you mean winning puck battles when you say "performance on the wall" because I never heard someone say "performance on the wall" before. And if you're trying to say Amirov is bad at engaging in & winning puck battles, I think you might be completely and utterly lost.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

tbh I don't think your take is very good regardless of Amirovs age or weight. Although I'm assuming you mean winning puck battles when you say "performance on the wall" because I never heard someone say "performance on the wall" before. And if you're trying to say Amirov is bad at engaging in & winning puck battles, I think you might be completely and utterly lost.

I’m not piggy backing on the other poster’s rationale regarding size, but from what I’ve seen in the WJC so far (3 games, didn’t catch sweden), Amirov is not really the first to the puck, he’s using his stick from outside the scrum, and his impressive takeaway numbers are coming from picking the puck away in open ice, not the boards.

I can see how someone can come away with thinking he is not engaged in play along the boards if they’ve only seen his role in these wjcs so far. And following that up calling someone utterly lost is counter productive.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

I’m not piggy backing on the other poster’s rationale regarding size, but from what I’ve seen in the WJC so far (3 games, didn’t catch sweden), Amirov is not really the first to the puck, he’s using his stick from outside the scrum, and his impressive takeaway numbers are coming from picking the puck away in open ice, not the boards.

I can see how someone can come away with thinking he is not engaged in play along the boards if they’ve only seen his role in these wjcs so far. And following that up calling someone utterly lost is counter productive.

I don't even know what we're talking about anymore when you bring up "Amirov is not really the first to the puck." When I think puck battle I usually think of 2 guys in a corner fighting for the puck. In those situations, Amirov is usually the one coming out with possession or forcing a bad play from his opponent. I can think of at least 2 goals created off situations like that in the Sweden & Austria games. It's literally one of his biggest strengths but because he doesn't weight 190lbs yet, I'm reading he's "not very good on the wall"

There's no productivity to be had with takes that wild

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I don't even know what we're talking about anymore when you bring up "Amirov is not really the first to the puck." When I think puck battle I usually think of 2 guys in a corner fighting for the puck. In those situations, Amirov is usually the one coming out with possession or forcing a bad play from his opponent. I can think of at least 2 goals created off situations like that in the Sweden & Austria games. It's literally one of his biggest strengths but because he doesn't weight 190lbs yet, I'm reading he's "not very good on the wall"

There's no productivity to be had with takes that wild

coaches talk about being the first to loose pucks all the time. I’d like to see clips of those. I’m not putting a burden of proof on you, I’m sure he has engaged if you say so. but like I said I’ve seen the Austria game and I came away with him playing more from the outside of the board battles. Particularly against harder competition (Did not see Sweden though).

 

[Coaches Coroner]

I don't even know what we're talking about anymore when you bring up "Amirov is not really the first to the puck." When I think puck battle I usually think of 2 guys in a corner fighting for the puck. In those situations, Amirov is usually the one coming out with possession or forcing a bad play from his opponent. I can think of at least 2 goals created off situations like that in the Sweden & Austria games. It's literally one of his biggest strengths but because he doesn't weight 190lbs yet, I'm reading he's "not very good on the wall"

There's no productivity to be had with takes that wild

there are a couple posters that I feel like got the wrong number and have been watching a different player. He's not a flawless prospect, certainly, but the criticisms I'm seeing by a couple posters make very little sense based on the games I've seen.

 

[3 Minute Minor]

coaches talk about being the first to loose pucks all the time. I’d like to see clips of those. I’m not putting a burden of proof on you, I’m sure he has engaged if you say so. but like I said I’ve seen the Austria game and I came away with him playing more from the outside of the board battles. Particularly against harder competition (Did not see Sweden though).

Takes away any time and space for the Swede D-man who probably should have thrown it behind the net but forced him into a bad choice by closing in quickly. Leads to a goal that was disallowed.



Again takes away any time and space from the defender, blocks the pass up the boards, engages in the battle which leads to the puck going back to the D. And those are just 2 examples off the top of my head that lead to goals (even though 1 was disallowed)


Maybe it's just me but when I think of "first to loose pucks" I think of D-men retrieving the puck in the D-zone and moving it before opposing forecheckers can apply pressure & force mistakes. I would agree that Amirov isn't a Zach Hyman-type on the dump & chase but I don't think that means he's weak in puck battles as the other poster suggested.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think back to what I said at the draft and watching this tournament I’m doubling down on this. He’s a pretty solid but boring pick for a loud fan base. Low bust potential. He’ll play in the league and be a valuable contributor. Not gonna be an impact guy though.

I think Amirov is a player who has average tools across the board. Not much he does that well, and not much he does poorly. In the last year, I've seen him show many different tools of the game in different settings, so I kept changing my mind about his skillset. But I think that was probably because there was nothing about his game that stood out that much, and everything can flash as a good tool, but it doesn't ever consistently stand out as such. I think he projects as a middle six winger who can do some of everything, but probably won't be more than a middle of the league player. He'll play, but won't be an impact guy. I'd say his draft range should be somewhere between 21-31.

 

[LeafChief]

I think back to what I said at the draft and watching this tournament I’m doubling down on this. He’s a pretty solid but boring pick for a loud fan base. Low bust potential. He’ll play in the league and be a valuable contributor. Not gonna be an impact guy though.

I'm doubling down on your take being incorrect. Par for the course.

Teams don't make picks based off of their fanbase being 'loud'.

 

[LeafsGuy16]

I think back to what I said at the draft and watching this tournament I’m doubling down on this. He’s a pretty solid but boring pick for a loud fan base. Low bust potential. He’ll play in the league and be a valuable contributor. Not gonna be an impact guy though.

I don’t know what the fan base has to do with anything, but he has every chance to be an impact player. He very clearly is an impact player amongst his peers. Great IQ, strong skating, good hands and a decent shot. Would easily be a top player for any team in this tournament.

I do agree that he has a low floor. Should be at minimum a middle 6 winger in the League. But I do think he has a legitimate chance (20-25%) at being a top line winger for a long time.

 

[TkachukMyAho]

I've liked what I've seen from Amirov so far, looking like a good pick for the Leafs.

 

[Halla]

That's funny because Kapanen is far better as a checking forward than as a skilled line complement. He's a bullet train that throws away the puck. Let that guy do his thing but not when your better players are on the ice.

Amirov was drafted as a guy with excellent puck possession skill and ability to play with talent. It makes sense that the Leafs would draft him because he can step in with say Tavares in a couple of years, and it means the Leafs are less reliant on keeping all of their expensive elite forwards. Wingers generally hit their prime sooner, too, so the Leafs can get value out of him on a cheap 1st or 2nd contract.



At some point the Leafs are going to need to make the transition the Lightning did and get very serious about adding heavy playoff style players. Let's just say Amirov is not that. He's wiry and not very good on the wall even against his peers.

what an awful take. you dont add size and grit early in the draft. you add those type through UFA and deadline deals (Coleman, Bogosian etc)

drafting "heavy" guys and you end up with Ritchie and Crouse instead of Nylander and Marner and dont need to worry about playoff style players because you wont be playing in em.

Amirov has looked good. 6 pts thus far, which is more than the 15th pick in 2019 (Caufield) has combined through two tourneys

give up the "draft heavy" crap. that Don cherry kind of thinking has been dead for about a decade

 

[foggyvisor]

He's looks like a 3rd liner in the NHL. Not a bad pick.

 

[TopChedder]

He's looks like a 3rd liner in the NHL. Not a bad pick.

At his young age yes. Right now he looks to be about a third line player. He will also develop more and could be much better for Russia next year as a 2nd year junior.

I could see 2nd line NHL player as he develops. Would love to see first line but prob not that level of prospect (unless he makes huge jump)

 

[LeafChief]

Zero finish. Whats that sound i just heard? The whiffing sound of a swing and a miss after Podkolzin set him up for yet another tap in

@Lucbourdon come get your boy.

 

[Canucks LB]

@Lucbourdon come get your boy.

Hey, leave me out of this, I’m trying to start 2021 happy

Also I don’t have powers on the prospect forums, Let’s all be nice too eachother everybody.

ps - If you feel a person is trolling, or flaming, or anything, the best thing to do is report and not reply, because then it just becomes more work for the moderators, And just makes it worse

 

[AvatarAang]

Has more goals half way through this season than Pod has in his KHL career.

Ignore him, he’s a nucks fan that spends more time talking about the leafs than his own team. I’m serious, go look at his posts.

For every 1 post he makes about the canucks, there’s 10 where he is trashing the leafs.

The biggest leaf fans on this site are the trolls!

 

[LeafChief]

Ignore him, he’s a nucks fan that spends more time talking about the leafs than his own team. I’m serious, go look at his posts.

For every 1 post he makes about the canucks, there’s 10 where he is trashing the leafs.

The biggest leaf fans on this site are the trolls!

It's sad. This Amirov thread has been pretty cordial compared to Leafs prospects threads in the past. There's also been some good back and forth between Leafs/Canucks fans with Amirov/Podkolzin being linemates.

 

[Canucks LB]

Knock it off Everybody
Get back on topic

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don’t know what the fan base has to do with anything, but he has every chance to be an impact player. He very clearly is an impact player amongst his peers. Great IQ, strong skating, good hands and a decent shot. Would easily be a top player for any team in this tournament.

I do agree that he has a low floor. Should be at minimum a middle 6 winger in the League. But I do think he has a legitimate chance (20-25%) at being a top line winger for a long time.

My point was merely that Amirov is not a player whose play garners as much attention as he gets. There will be all this back and forth about this guy in this thread, and he’ll be a low event middle sixer whose play generates little discussion, in my opinion. If this guy was picked by Nashville or Arizona, he wouldn’t even have 10 posts in his thread since the draft. That’s not a criticism of the player or the team. More a commentary on how it’s interesting how a boring player (in a very neutral way) still manages to generate so much discussion.

 

[dedutchhockey]

He will need to finish more if Russia has a chance vs Canada.

Should have had at least 2 goals vs Germany the way it was getting set up for him on a platter.

it’s been a good tourney so far for Amirov but with more finish it could have been an Amazing one.

 

[dedutchhockey]

Has more goals half way through this season than Pod has in his KHL career.

that would only surprise someone who has never seen Podkolzin play and think Podz is a goal scorer.

Podz is a hard nosed playmaker. He isn’t a finisher.

he played w. Marchenko in last years WJC for a reason.

Amirov is doing fine. Need more finish tho.

 

[Leafs at Knight]

that would only surprise someone who has never seen Podkolzin play and think Podz is a goal scorer.

Podz is a hard nosed playmaker. He isn’t a finisher.

he played w. Marchenko in last years WJC for a reason.

Amirov is doing fine. Need more finish tho.




Amirov could have had a hat trick just from this one shift.

The irony is that Amirov is more known for his 2-way game, rather than an elite goal scorer.

 

[Didalee Hed]

Botton is always wild with his predictions. When he likes a prospect, he REALLY likes a prospect.

Ever heard the todd harvey scouting story craig tells?

 

[dedutchhockey]

The irony is that Amirov is more known for his 2-way game, rather than an elite goal scorer.

Starting to definitely see that as I’ve paid more close attention to Amirov at WJC.

Don’t think anybody should have sniper/elite scorer expectations on him.