i would like to read a reliable scouting report of bogdan konyuskov
@StevenToddIves @Guadana @evnted : any of you have an opinion on him?
Yes. Bogdan Konyushov is a terrific young defender, one of the better defensemen I've seen in the KHL this year.
I think the only aspect which kept him under the draft radar several seasons in a row was the fact that his size/speed combination is below what NHL executives tend to prefer. I'd say Konyushov is about 5'11-175 or thereabouts, and though he's a pretty good skater I wouldn't rank him as a plus skater, per se.
But everything else about him is extremely impressive. Konyushov is a very heady defenseman with high-end passing acumen and startlingly good hockey instincts. He reads the play quickly and processes quickly. He's confident in his hockey sense which gives him a sense of calm and savvy with the puck. Konyushov is also fiercely competitive and quite physical, the kid is a battler and a leader on the ice.
Konyushov is good in all three zones. Defensively he's sound, without being quite the shut-down guy. His anticipation is his finest asset, as he is an ace at picking off opposing passes by using his positioning to bait the opposition into attempting plays where he is ready and waiting to pounce. He can be beat by bigger, faster forwards at times, but it's certainly not for lack of effort or game-processing.
Konyushov is excellent in transition. He's better with the breakout passing game than with leading the rush himself, and he's always a threat to lace a seeing-eye stretch pass. But he's also pretty adept at the rush. In the offensive zone he possesses that unique ability to get pucks to the net despite lacking a high-power shot. Again, his mind and his high-end passing are his calling cards in the offensive zone. He's not a flashy dangler but he's certainly capable of beating a guy one-on-one there and again. He excels at keeping pucks in the zone and is never quick to bail off the blueline out of panic.
Overall, I'd rank Konyushov as Montreal's #3 defense prospect after Reinbacher and Hutson and ahead of Engstrom and Mailloux. In a best case scenario I'd say Bogdan Konyushov would be a very good, all-situations, two-way second-pairing guy at the NHL level capable of some good-but-not-high-end scoring totals and above-average defense.