Prospect Info: Ilya Nikolayev, Centre, 88th Overall

[DirtDiver]

Anyone know what the amount of ‘Russian Factor’ is with him? Wonder if he would come here to play AHL at some point or if it’s a NHL or never type deal with him.

If you watch his interview he said he has 2 years left on his contract and if he is developed enough he would come over. He even said he has done research on Calgary. Seems like he wants to play in the NHL.

 

[Deen]

Hopefully he brings Rafikov with him.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

This was a steal Flames fans. I would have taken him late in the 1st rd, early in the 2nd. Great value to get him in the 3rd.

 

[super6646]

This was a steal Flames fans. I would have taken him late in the 1st rd, early in the 2nd. Great value to get him in the 3rd.

Why exactly did he fall so much? Apparently Button had him in the top 15 as late as January.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Why exactly did he fall so much? Apparently Button had him in the top 15 as late as January.

The Russian factor? Not as well know as CMJHL prospects. All I know is I like him as a 2 way Center. Time will tell. He models his game after Patrice Bergeron so that is a good tell he plays the right way.

 

[JPeeper]

He came to Vancouver for the draft and models his game after a Canadian. I don't think he's a flight risk at all. If he had no interest in playing in North America I highly doubt he flies over to Canada for the draft. He speaks no English, but Rittich doesn't either.

Hoping he has a big year next year. Would be nice to have a Russian on the Flames.

 

[Nanuuk]

Why exactly did he fall so much? Apparently Button had him in the top 15 as late as January.

It seems that it was a pretty deep draft and I can only speculate that it wasn't so much teams didn't want him, they just saw someone else that they thought was the BPA or to fill their positional needs.

 

[DFF]

Why exactly did he fall so much? Apparently Button had him in the top 15 as late as January.

I read some where apparently he would make Monahan look like a speedster, other than that he is a hard worker and good player

 

[tfong]

Love this pick.

 

[Figgy44]

I read some where apparently he would make Monahan look like a speedster, other than that he is a hard worker and good player

Nikolayev has very good top-end speed, which makes him dangerous off the rush, and he can get behind the defence to get open for a long breakaway pass. His acceleration is good but his first few steps could still be improved even more. This would make Nikolayev even better in short races to retrieve loose pucks or trying to quickly shake a defender and get open in the zone. His agility and edgework are also good but not great. He is better moving in straight lines than he is when asked to cut and make sideways movements. Still there is enough there to give defenders some issues.

Ilya Nikolayev Scouting Report: 2019 NHL Draft #52

There's a quote from McKeen's hockey that says:

A fast skater, he moves with long strides and gets to a solid top speed

Ilya Nikolayev at eliteprospects.com

Nikolayev is not an explosive skater nor does he possess a quick first step, but he is agile in every direction and generates a lot of power behind his wide stride.

By all accounts, Nikolayev is just fine at skating – he gets where he needs to go

Flames 2019 First Round Targets: Ilya Nikolayev

I won't challenge what you read, but I'm saying all the scouting reports are all contrary to what you are stating. Very likely you are mixing up something you read with something else, then you associated it with Il Niko.

 

[DFF]

Ilya Nikolayev Scouting Report: 2019 NHL Draft #52

There's a quote from McKeen's hockey that says:

Ilya Nikolayev at eliteprospects.com



Flames 2019 First Round Targets: Ilya Nikolayev

I won't challenge what you read, but I'm saying all the scouting reports are all contrary to what you are stating. Very likely you are mixing up something you read with something else, then you associated it with Il Niko.

2019 NHL Draft prospect profile: Ilya Nikolaev has raw talent but lacks footspeed

Also "Nikolayev is not an explosive skater nor does he possess a quick first step" ....that means he is not very fast

 

[Figgy44]

2019 NHL Draft prospect profile: Ilya Nikolaev has raw talent but lacks footspeed

Also "Nikolayev is not an explosive skater nor does he possess a quick first step" ....that means he is not very fast

The biggest drawback is his skating. At best, you could say his skating is average. For a player with his frame, he should be able to have more power and better strides. He hunches over too much and limits his explosiveness by using an awkward motion. His technique would certainly need to be tweaked if he wants to keep up with the NHL trending faster every year.

Same link you just posted

That's still not equal to making Monahan looking like a speedster.

 

[Flames Fanatic]

2019 NHL Draft prospect profile: Ilya Nikolaev has raw talent but lacks footspeed

Also "Nikolayev is not an explosive skater nor does he possess a quick first step" ....that means he is not very fast

No it just means you have an odd interpretation and don't read the rest of the material as pointed out by Fig.

Scouts will usually say skating is average or below average if it's an actual concern. How you took that to he makes Monahan look fast is a weird stance to take imo.

 

[DFF]

No it just means you have an odd interpretation and don't read the rest of the material as pointed out by Fig.

Scouts will usually say skating is average or below average if it's an actual concern. How you took that to he makes Monahan look fast is a weird stance to take imo.

No I learned how to read between the lines. Scouts almost never come out and say he sucks at this and that. When they say he lacks footspeed and not explosive they mean he has skating issue that needs improving.

Beside I was responding to the guy that wants to know why he fell so much, and that was the most obvious reason I could find.
Just because he is now a flames prospect, his flaws just disappear

 

[Flames Fanatic]

No I learned how to read between the lines. Scouts almost never come out and say he sucks at this and that. When they say he lacks footspeed and not explosive they mean he has skating issue that needs improving.

Beside I was responding to the guy that wants to know why he fell so much, and that was the most obvious reason I could find.
Just because he is now a flames prospect, his flaws just disappear

Yes. Because that's clearly what I said.

He's a third round pick. If he had no flaws, he's not a third round pick. Just because we don't obsesses and get our jollies off of negatives doesn't mean they don't exist.

There's so much between "he's not explosive skater" and "he's slower than Monahan". You chose to go there. Not the scouts. You inserted your pessimistic interpretation. Scouts also come out and say the negatives all the time. But you'd know that if you spent more than 2 minutes glancing at a summary article and paraphrasing it poorly.

Skating can also be worked on a bit, especially when it's in the stride as mentioned specifically in the article. Hell, there was stuff from Mangiapane just the other day talking about how the Flames skating coaches helped fix his stride and that's why he was more explosive this year.

 

[Figgy44]

If I had to guess, the reason why Il Niko fell so far was because of his contract status. It kinda is a Russian factor, but not really.

Supposedly, he has two season before his KHL deal expires. On occasion, KHL teams give their blessing and allow the contract be broken early, but it's a bit rarer. Il Niko also seems loyal and wants to play the contract rather than break it. Teams can read it different ways, but most teams likely would read it as a beginning of a long lines of excuses to not come over. But assuming that there's no issues with him coming over after two seasons, it means that it's 2 seasons until he even hits our AHL farm team, which likely means he at least 3 seasons away from any type of NHL possibility. I think some teams were banking on the idea the prospect they selected will be NHL possibilities in less time with zero risk the player decides to not come over.

I think the risk is low he doesn't end up suiting up for the Flames though.

 

[Kranix]

Hopefully he's the next Kucherov. I might as well hope. That would be cool.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Hopefully he's the next Kucherov. I might as well hope. That would be cool.

Doesn't sound like he has that upside. I think hoping for a Backlund clone would be amazing.

TBH I am more intrigued by how Emilio Pettersen & Dmitry Zavgorodniy are going to progress. These could be top 6 forwards.

 

[Volica]

Doesn't sound like he has that upside. I think hoping for a Backlund clone would be amazing.

TBH I am more intrigued by how Emilio Pettersen & Dmitry Zavgorodniy are going to progress. These could be top 6 forwards.

Calgary has some interesting picks for sure.
I mentioned this a while back while this forum bickered about Selke 2.0 Mark Jankowski, at-worst bottom 6 defensive stalwart Morgan Klimchuk and Patrick "Mobile, big tough kid who at worst is going be a bottom pair nightmare" Sieloff:

You want guys being huge contributors at the level of play they're at. Independent of every other excuse or factor we can fool ourselves into believing, you want the kids you pick to be racking up a ton of points and being far and away the best player on their team in the CHL, College, Development program, overseas, etc. It raises a lot of red flags when guys are middle of the road in a developmental league. Like, look at the guys who've made a huge impact on this team alone this year:

Rasmus Andersson, monster in Barrie.
Andrew Mangiapane, MONSTER in the OHL.
Dillon Dube, MONSTER in the WHL.

You need the guys to be game changers in their own leagues to have a shot at the NHL. The guys who look pedestrian rarely pan out.

That's what gets me excited for Emilio and Dmitry, Pettersen was plus or minus the best player at the U of Denver (one of the top 3 anyway); he's a minimum a year younger than his counterparts, and up to 4 years younger. Great sign if you're a Flames fan. Zavgorodniy, another big player in Rimouski with room to grow as he learns the NA game.

For these later picks, we have to see what they do this year. The big thing about Ilya is that he was pegged to go much high than he did, he's a big thick kid who has shown some big upside. Let's see how he progresses in year 1 and 2 of his KHL deal.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Calgary has some interesting picks for sure.
I mentioned this a while back while this forum bickered about Selke 2.0 Mark Jankowski, at-worst bottom 6 defensive stalwart Morgan Klimchuk and Patrick "Mobile, big tough kid who at worst is going be a bottom pair nightmare" Sieloff:

You want guys being huge contributors at the level of play they're at. Independent of every other excuse or factor we can fool ourselves into believing, you want the kids you pick to be racking up a ton of points and being far and away the best player on their team in the CHL, College, Development program, overseas, etc. It raises a lot of red flags when guys are middle of the road in a developmental league. Like, look at the guys who've made a huge impact on this team alone this year:

Rasmus Andersson, monster in Barrie.
Andrew Mangiapane, MONSTER in the OHL.
Dillon Dube, MONSTER in the WHL.

You need the guys to be game changers in their own leagues to have a shot at the NHL. The guys who look pedestrian rarely pan out.

That's what gets me excited for Emilio and Dmitry, Pettersen was plus or minus the best player at the U of Denver (one of the top 3 anyway); he's a minimum a year younger than his counterparts, and up to 4 years younger. Great sign if you're a Flames fan. Zavgorodniy, another big player in Rimouski with room to grow as he learns the NA game.

For these later picks, we have to see what they do this year. The big thing about Ilya is that he was pegged to go much high than he did, he's a big thick kid who has shown some big upside. Let's see how he progresses in year 1 and 2 of his KHL deal.

I agree and I’ve always thought that as well. Honestly I think these guys should be mostly dominant on the Heat also, at least in their respective roles.

 

[Kipper933]

I forgot I had some Nikolayev highlights on my CPU.

Here's a 3-point game of his from last year. Low-key highlights though, only really shows his slick wrister.

 

[Figgy44]

I think I figure out why Il Niko reminds me of someone.

Would the love child of Ilya Nikolayev and Auston Matthews be Milos Raonic?

 

[InfinityIggy]

Most flawless pick we've made in years.

 

[super6646]

5G 3A in his last 5 games are going scoreless in his first 3 games. Could he be promoted soon enough to the vhl or khl?

 

[Figgy44]

Doesn't sound like he has that upside. I think hoping for a Backlund clone would be amazing.

TBH I am more intrigued by how Emilio Pettersen & Dmitry Zavgorodniy are going to progress. These could be top 6 forwards.

Agreed. Stylistically Il Niko isn't anywhere close to Kucherov. Backlund/Bergeron perhaps, but not Kucherov.

EMP and DMZ do seem like in specific circumstances could end up as middle 6 forwards. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Kinda crazy that we have so many late picks that are still interesting to watch several years after watching rather than seem like immediate write offs soon after being drafted.