REDLINE;
130. Maxim Barbashev LW 6-0/180 L 18 Dec 03 Moncton Has tools, but plays a very vanilla game. Desire is a ?
Blackbook; Players Not Ranked
Barbashev, who is the younger brother of St.-Louis Blues forward Ivan Barbashev, was the 1st pick (50th overall) for the Moncton Wildcats out of the 2020 CHL import draft. In a COVID and injury shortened 1st year in the QMJHL, Maxim scored at a point per game pace with 10 points in 10 games. Many were expecting that he would improve on those totals in his sophomore season, but his production has decreased finishing the year with 42 points in 59 games. Playing for most of the season as a winger on the Wildcats 2nd line, Barbashev’s biggest asset is his tenacity and grit that he displays on a nightly basis in Moncton. His compete and willingness to play physical is never in question. In fact, you can tell that he loves to deliver bone jarring hits to his opponents any chance that he gets. Unfortunately, his tenacity can sometimes lead to him taking bad penalties and he has even been suspended a couple times for blatant cheap shots. While we love the physical play, he has to a better job at making sure he doesn’t step over the line. He is a reliable defensive player with good defensive IQ and uses his body to play great defense down low and on the
boards. He plays a very simple game and rarely makes bad decisions in the defensive zone. We would like to see him use his stick more to get into passing lanes and cause takeaways.
On the offensive side of the puck, he lacks offensive creativity and playmaking ability. His passes are often inaccurate and lead to turnovers in the offensive zone. His shot is pretty good, as he uses a quick release and a big body to generate a powerful shot that can be lethal. His skating is average, it lacks explosiveness and quickness which he could use to separate from opponents and give himself better scoring chances. Where he shines on offense is in front of the net as he uses his big body to clean up rebounds and to disturb the opposing goaltender.
Barbashev has the frame and the play style to possibly become a depth forward on an NHL team in the future but I do not see his game transitioning into an offensive role. He is simply too limited on the offensive side of the puck to become an offensive contributor at the NHL level.
“Barbashev was very disappointing in his draft year. I expected more production out of him, and he
sadly could not deliver.” – HP Scout Joël Collette, May 2022
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