LD Mikhail Gulyayev - Avangard Omsk, KHL (2023, 31st, COL)

[lionsDen]

Just googled it, one site says Ozolinsh was 6’5” while another says he was 6’3”. Ozolinsh was very unique type of player, all offense at his size is very rare.

His Wikipedia stated he was 6’3 his nhl player page was 6’3 elite prospects, hockey reference, hockey db. What site had him at 6’5?

 

[S E P H]

His Wikipedia stated he was 6’3 his nhl player page was 6’3 elite prospects, hockey reference, hockey db. What site had him at 6’5?

Honestly, I forgot, I just did the first couple of pages on google and they all say 6'3". I wonder if that site fixed it?!

 

[lionsDen]

Honestly, I forgot, I just did the first couple of pages on google and they all say 6'3". I wonder if that site fixed it?!

To be honest I was surprised when you said 6’5 i never thought he was that tall and had to look it up. He was one of my favorites back in the day. Memory is a bit foggy but why did we trade him again?

 

[Caser]

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Amazing pass

 

[Kshahdoo]

1st goal of the season for the kid.

 

[Kshahdoo]

And another goal.

 

[Castle8130]

He is literally a smaller sized Heiskanen. I was saying this all summer

 

[Caser]

 

[barriers]

 

[BKarchitect]

As an Avs fan I’m all for this. He’s looking great for an 18 year-old but this will give him time to develop and gain strength. He’s appeared in every game for Avangard this year and is playing 15:36 a game which is great for a teenager and shows the club trust him immensely but also has room to grow.

He was already signed through 2024-5 according to EP so does that keep him locked in three years past that or does it supplant the extra year in his current deal?

Either way, bringing home over as a hopefully fully formed top four option at age 22 or 23 would be worth the wait.

 

[Kshahdoo]

As an Avs fan I’m all for this. He’s looking great for an 18 year-old but this will give him time to develop and gain strength. He’s appeared in every game for Avangard this year and is playing 15:36 a game which is great for a teenager and shows the club trust him immensely but also has room to grow.

He was already signed through 2024-5 according to EP so does that keep him locked in three years past that or does it supplant the extra year in his current deal?

Either way, bringing home over as a hopefully fully formed top four option at age 22 or 23 would be worth the wait.

I guess it's three years including this season. At least it's usually how such resigns work in KHL.

 

[Caser]

As an Avs fan I’m all for this. He’s looking great for an 18 year-old but this will give him time to develop and gain strength. He’s appeared in every game for Avangard this year and is playing 15:36 a game which is great for a teenager and shows the club trust him immensely but also has room to grow.

He was already signed through 2024-5 according to EP so does that keep him locked in three years past that or does it supplant the extra year in his current deal?

Either way, bringing home over as a hopefully fully formed top four option at age 22 or 23 would be worth the wait.

Should be until the end of 2025/26 now, so effectively it is adding one more year.

 

[Caser]

 

[John Mandalorian]

Any updates (especially from Russian or Euro based posters)?

 

[mistaclick]

Any updates (especially from Russian or Euro based posters)?

11 points in 48 games, averaging just over 15 mins a game. Gets on average 15 seconds of PP time every game. Decent production for a 3rd pairing guy with limited special teams usage

 

[Castle8130]

11 points in 48 games, averaging just over 15 mins a game. Gets on average 15 seconds of PP time every game. Decent production for a 3rd pairing guy with limited special teams usage

I compared him to a smaller Miro Heiskanen before the draft and he looks the part

 

[mistaclick]

I compared him to a smaller Miro Heiskanen before the draft and he looks the part

Yeah I’d say that’s fair. Before the draft I likened him to a Makar-lite based on his offensive play but mostly on his skating. Looked like one of those guys who appear to be “floating” on the ice when they skate… water bug-esque.
Haven’t watched any KHL action though so not sure how he’s been progressing defensively.

 

[Castle8130]

Yeah I’d say that’s fair. Before the draft I likened him to a Makar-lite based on his offensive play but mostly on his skating. Looked like one of those guys who appear to be “floating” on the ice when they skate… water bug-esque.
Haven’t watched any KHL action though so not sure how he’s been progressing defensively.

Most people compared him to Makar, but I think that's a lot to do with his size as well. I thought Willander was a bigger Makar, while Guly was closer to Heiskanen stylistically.

 

[Kshahdoo]

He scores his 4th goal of the season.

 

[Caser]

 

[McJedi]

Mikhail Gulyayev is having himself a fantastic season for Avangard in the KHL.

In his last game vs a top team, he played top pair minutes with 21. He played 19 minutes the game prior. He has progressed from his team's #7 to start the year to being a staple on the 2nd pair (he's the 3D on his team) and has earned a consistent role and one that is core to to club. He's more of a defensive defender than offensive which is the role his coach has him in with expectations for same (+8) on the season. He's the QB of his pair and is charged with transitioning the puck from defense to offense.

His development and deployment is highly unusual for an 18 year old defender in the KHL. Esp a kid playing on the #1 team in the eastern conference. The KHL is hard on young players as a general rule of thumb. Ice time is difficult to come by and young player development for their future NHL clubs is non existent thesis so that he's playing this much is a reflection of his coach believing he's earned it.

D Simashev, the 6th pick in the 2023 NHL plays 3rd pair and about 5 few minutes a game for his team. He's not having a bad season either, but he's not as key/core a player for his club as Gulyayev is for Avangard.

This guy is signed for 2 more years after this. If he's playing a consistent 18+ minutes a game in a top 4 role for the next 2.25 KHL seasons, he should be ready to jump right into the Avs top 4 at age 21 when he comes over. He'll have a few hundred KHL games under his belt by that time.

His roster and role progression for Avangard this season is pretty shocking for a young defender.

It's been a few years since the Avs were sitting on high end NHL prospects, but the 2023 draft appears to have delivered two excellent ones in round 1. Thank you Alex Newhook trade! Thank you!

 

[McJedi]

He scores his 4th goal of the season.

You see the goal? Walked the line and wrist shot upper bin thru a screen. Nice one.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Already 1+1 in his first KHL playoff game.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Playing a big role on a high-end team in the postseason is impressive at his age. I think he is outperforming his draft spot.