LD Nikita Okhotyuk (2019, 61st, NJD; traded to SJS; traded to CGY)

[Jason MacIsaac]

I'm gonna miss Okhotiuk. Great gap control, good stick and extremely physical.

 

[PizzaAndPucks]

I'm gonna miss Okhotiuk. Great gap control, good stick and extremely physical.

Me too. Maybe Case Mccarthy can help fill that void down the line with a little less snarl to his game.

 

[Caser]

 

[Caser]

 

[Chainshot]

Kind of surprised he went for so little to the Flames.

 

[Hinterland]

Kind of surprised he went for so little to the Flames.

Wondering about this as well. I actually don't understand why they traded him at all. It's not like he was blocking somebody else's spot and he was one of their youngest defensemen, just three months older than Henry Thrun. They must have soured on him quickly or the player, for some reasons, wanted out.

He was a young, cost controlled asset looking like an NHL player. Former 2nd rounder they traded for only a year ago, yet they gave him away for a 5th, which is essentially nothing. I understand the Sharks wanting to get as many lottery tickets as well but why trade your youngest players if you don't get anything of value in return? Even if they disliked him they could have kept him around until the summer (or beyond that) and showcased him with big minutes to maximize the return. It's not like they're going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[Brodeur]

Wondering about this as well. I actually don't understand why they traded him at all. It's not like he was blocking somebody else's spot and he was one of their youngest defensemen, just three months older than Henry Thrun. They must have soured on him quickly or the player, for some reasons, wanted out.

He was a young, cost controlled asset looking like an NHL player. Former 2nd rounder they traded for only a year ago, yet they gave him away for a 5th, which is essentially nothing. I understand the Sharks wanting to get as many lottery tickets as well but why trade your youngest players if you don't get anything of value in return? Even if they disliked him they could have kept him around until the summer (or beyond that) and showcased him with big minutes to maximize the return. It's not like they're going anywhere anytime soon.

They probably would have needed to move somebody out by the summer. Not sure how much Okhotiuk's value could have been pumped up. It's not like Okhotiuk was the centerpiece in the Meier trade.

We saw San Jose not have to give up much for Calen Addison (cheap former 2nd rounder). Past draft position doesn't really matter that much five years later. Once you run of waiver exemption, trade value for a tweener isn't that good.

Under contract for 2024-25:

LHD: Ferraro-Vlasic-Thrun(RFA)-Mukhamadullin-Knyzhov
RHD: Rutta-Burroughs-Benning-Emberson(RFA)-Addison(RFA)

10 guys (w/o Okhotiuk) for 7 spots. I assume Thrun/Mukhamadulln still are waiver exempt but they'd probably want them to compete for an NHL spot. We'll see if Vlasic ends up being a buyout.

 

[Hinterland]

They probably would have needed to move somebody out by the summer. Not sure how much Okhotiuk's value could have been pumped up. It's not like Okhotiuk was the centerpiece in the Meier trade.

We saw San Jose not have to give up much for Calen Addison (cheap former 2nd rounder). Past draft position doesn't really matter that much five years later. Once you run of waiver exemption, trade value for a tweener isn't that good.

Under contract for 2024-25:

LHD: Ferraro-Vlasic-Thrun(RFA)-Mukhamadullin-Knyzhov
RHD: Rutta-Burroughs-Benning-Emberson(RFA)-Addison(RFA)

10 guys (w/o Okhotiuk) for 7 spots. I assume Thrun/Mukhamadulln still are waiver exempt but they'd probably want them to compete for an NHL spot. We'll see if Vlasic ends up being a buyout.

Okhotyuk is younger than almost all of those guys. Even younger than Addison. If they needed spots, they could have cleared some of their useless older players first. Like I said. I don't get why they gave away a young, cost controlled assets for essentially nothing.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Okhotyuk is younger than almost all of those guys. Even younger than Addison. If they needed spots, they could have cleared some of their useless older players first. Like I said. I don't get why they gave away a young, cost controlled assets for essentially nothing.

Might’ve simply done the guy a favor by moving him to a place to get playing time.

 

[Hinterland]

Might’ve simply done the guy a favor by moving him to a place to get playing time.

Sharks could have played him themselves. They have enough replaceable guys in their lineup.

I just think it doesn't make sense to give a cost controlled asset away for pretty much free when he looked like a player already.

I don't even think it's a tragedy but it's a strange trade I can't make sense of. I think something must have happened. Either the Sharks really soured on him for some reason or the player wanted out.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Sharks could have played him themselves. They have enough replaceable guys in their lineup.

I just think it doesn't make sense to give a cost controlled asset away for pretty much free when he looked like a player already.

I don't even think it's a tragedy but it's a strange trade I can't make sense of. I think something must have happened. Either the Sharks really soured on him for some reason or the player wanted out.

Coaches love themselves some untalented vets at times.

 

[Brodeur]

Okhotyuk is younger than almost all of those guys. Even younger than Addison. If they needed spots, they could have cleared some of their useless older players first. Like I said. I don't get why they gave away a young, cost controlled assets for essentially nothing.

I don't think there's much of a market for guys like Vlasic/Benning/Burroughs. Like I said, we'll see if they buy anybody out. Even then, it's a numbers game. They may simply like Thrun more than Okhotiuk at this point and/or want to open up a spot for Mukhamadullin. We'll see if they have any other additional moves.

I hate to spoil it for you, but there's gonna be more guys from the 2019 Draft class who get traded for late picks or hit the waiver wire next year.

I wouldn't have hated the Devils keeping Okhotiuk over Kevin Bahl last year, but I think Okhotiuk is just a replacement level physical 3rd pair D at this point. I think he was just a throw in to the trade with the meat of it being Mukhamadullin+1st+2nd. When the Devils traded Taylor Hall, we got a prospect named Nick Merkley as part of the return. Some fans had high expectations as he was former 1st rounder but his window was closing and Arizona didn't really see him as part of their future.

After a season, the Devils didn't really see a spot for Merkley in the lineup either and he was no longer waiver exempt, so they traded him for a fairly meager return (tweener D Christian Jaros). By then, Merkley was just a fringe NHLer rather than a former 1st rounder oozing upside.

 

[coooldude]

Sharks have a logjam of like 6 LDs who are all currently or projected as third pairing D. Okhotiuk was one of the most physical of them, but he consistently struggled to make smart plays in his own end with the puck, causing repeated chances against. I liked him as a developing third pairing strong D but it was hard to overlook the challenges in his own end, and he's not bringing a whole lot otherwise.

I think the Sharks must have decided that with Emberson and Thrun, they already have two plugin young Ds with second pairing upside at very best, that looked more promising, and yes, they're also trying to clear out space for Mukh. The other minor detail here is that Okhotiuk would have had to clear waivers, which might have been why he made the roster in the first place. I wonder if he might have just been sent down to the Barracuda if we could have, but we couldn't, so move him to help the player and clear some roster space.

 

[CaptainShark]

The SJHN podcast mentioned one other aspect that might have played a role in the decision: apparently Nikita struggled with accepting/leaving behind mistakes, which is super problematic in the environment the Sharks present ATM.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Sharks could have played him themselves. They have enough replaceable guys in their lineup.

I just think it doesn't make sense to give a cost controlled asset away for pretty much free when he looked like a player already.

I don't even think it's a tragedy but it's a strange trade I can't make sense of. I think something must have happened. Either the Sharks really soured on him for some reason or the player wanted out.

Okhotiuk is really, really not good at hockey.

 

[Mattb124]

Might’ve simply done the guy a favor by moving him to a place to get playing time.

Why do you think he wasn't getting playing time with the Sharks? He was in the line-up when healthy and got 16+ minutes/game - mostly because the Sharks have had a ton of injuries on the back end. He was traded because is not a very good hockey player, one who would have struggled to get ice time on a terrible Sharks team absent injuries.

 

[Caser]

 

[Caser]

 

[DFF]

Hopefully he learned something in the KHL

Conroy is saving face qualifying him.

Dude was terrible

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Hopefully he learned something in the KHL

Conroy is saving face qualifying him.

Dude was terrible

Think you have him confused with someone else. Nikita has never played in the KHL.

In fact, he was teammates with Kevin Bahl on the Ottawa 67s (one of the best teams in junior hockey the Covid year) and also with Devils' affiliate Utica.

In fact, he may have expedited his exit from New Jersey when he fought GM Tom Fitzgerald's son in an AHL game.

Don't know how you hold his time in San Jose against him - the team was a dumpster fire with very little structure; tough way to cut your teeth as basically a rookie.

Whether it is only with the Wranglers or he eventually makes his way to the Flames he will be a player the fans appreciate.

 

[DFF]

Think you have him confused with someone else. Nikita has never played in the KHL.

In fact, he was teammates with Kevin Bahl on the Ottawa 67s (one of the best teams in junior hockey the Covid year) and also with Devils' affiliate Utica.

In fact, he may have expedited his exit from New Jersey when he fought GM Tom Fitzgerald's son in an AHL game.

Don't know how you hold his time in San Jose against him - the team was a dumpster fire with very little structure; tough way to cut your teeth as basically a rookie.

Whether it is only with the Wranglers or he eventually makes his way to the Flames he will be a player the fans appreciate.

Sorry I meant he will learn something in the KHL next year before coming back to the NHL. He was terrible during his short time with the Flames as well.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Sorry I meant he will learn something in the KHL next year before coming back to the NHL. He was terrible during his short time with the Flames as well.

My mistake. Missed Dreger's tweet. He's not listed on CSKA's roster yet.

Didn't get to see him play with the Flames. CSKA is usually one of the KHL 'S better teams, with a veteran defense corps.

Should help his game.