Russian prospects at 2014 NHL draft

[Caser]

And teams like Nashville, Vancouver, Toronto and St.Louis are going with Russians! Is the end of the world that near already?

 

[ozo]

And teams like Nashville, Vancouver, Toronto and St.Louis are going with Russians! Is the end of the world that near already?

Relatively weakish draft might induce GM's just to take a gamble on Ruskies, though probably just co-incidende and last Russian in this draft has already been taken.

 

[Caser]

Actually it could be that way too, I have checked last year and a lot of Russians went in rounds 1-3 and then only in round 7

 

[ozo]

Actually it could be that way too, I have checked last year and a lot of Russians went in rounds 1-3 and then only in round 7

That means undrafted Tkachyov will pull a Tolchinsky as well just for the sake of symmetry?

 

[Caser]

That means undrafted Tkachyov will pull a Tolchinsky as well just for the sake of symmetry?

Yeah, why not, I think Tolchinsky doesn't have much to complain now about going undrafted

Finally at least some of my predictions came true: Shestyorkin to Rangers at 4-th round

 

[malkinfan]

Surprised gavrikov still on the board

 

[Roo Mad Bro]

Flyers just took Fazleev.

 

[JJTT]

3 goalies taken so far. Interesting.

 

[Caser]

At the end of the day looks like size really mattered this year: Tkachev and Nikolishin will have to take Tolchinsky's path. Also it still sounds kind of a little bit wrong that Tryamkin is selected at the 3-rd round, while Mironov went undrafted. Glad that Kadeykin got selected by Detroit though.

 

[JJTT]

At the end of the day looks like size really mattered this year: Tkachev and Nikolishin will have to take Tolchinsky's path. Also it still sounds kind of a little bit wrong that Lyamkin is selected at the 3-rd round, while Mironov went undrafted. Glad that Kadeykin got selected by Detroit though.

Lyamkin was undrafted, Tryamkin went on the 3rd round though.

 

[ozo]

Mironov is very error prone from what I've managed to in WJC and KHL playoffs. No surprise for me.

 

[Caser]

Lyamkin was undrafted, Tryamkin went on the 3rd round though.

Thanks, of course it is Tryamkin, made a mistake because my head is gonna blow after all those rounds, corrected it now

Mironov is very error prone from what I've managed to in WJC and KHL playoffs. No surprise for me.

He is not ideal, but I mean that Tryamkin definitely looks much more error prone and also has more contract years left, but again - size matters.

 

[ozo]

He is not ideal, but I mean that Tryamkin definitely looks much more error prone and also has more contract years left, but again - size matters.

Yeah, haven't seen Tryamkin enough to form any opinion, but I'm sure there isn't an NHL in Mironov. And if you are sure, that Tryamkin is inferior then Vancouver just wasted a pick. :/

 

[malkinfan]

At the end of the day looks like size really mattered this year: Tkachev and Nikolishin will have to take Tolchinsky's path. Also it still sounds kind of a little bit wrong that Tryamkin is selected at the 3-rd round, while Mironov went undrafted. Glad that Kadeykin got selected by Detroit though.

I agree, Nikolishin and Tkachev both easily slipped and have high end skill to be drafted. Lyamkin, Mikulovich, Gavrikov I also fully expected to be drafted along with Nekolenko.

Tryamkin IMO is not a great pick. Size and speed yes, offense mediocre and soft as a cat. I think the idea is that they can make him like Chara but I don't see it. DRW tried it with Telyakov, who is even bigger and he couldn't even cut it in the ECHL this year.

Kraskovsky I predicted would go and he did despite scouting agencies nailing him in the rankings.

Nice to see Kadeiken go to Detroit, didn't expect that, but very pleasantly surprised with that.

All 3 draft projected goalies were taken, solid. At the WJC again, we can look forward to solid goaltending.

Nekolenko mark my words will be drafted or signed in the future. IMO he is the highest end skill out of Russia. Sources say he was playing not 100% even when he returned... Very stupid for teams to punish guys who are injured in their draft year, its been done before, but I feel like teams will be fighting over him after the season is complete.

 

[Caser]

Yeah, haven't seen Tryamkin enough to form any opinion, but I'm sure there isn't an NHL in Mironov. And if you are sure, that Tryamkin is inferior then Vancouver just wasted a pick. :/

I wouldn't be so sure about Mironov, he actually looked good to me at U20 and also at those Dynamo games that I have seen (didn't have a chance to see playoffs though). But anyway, although I'm pretty sure Tryamkin is currently inferior, it wouldn't be actually correct to say that this pick is a waste, it just means that there's more hard work to do in terms of development, and it's really hard to tell at this point if he will succeed or not.

 

[Caser]

I agree, Nikolishin and Tkachev both easily slipped and have high end skill to be drafted. Lyamkin, Mikulovich, Gavrikov I also fully expected to be drafted along with Nekolenko.

Tryamkin IMO is not a great pick. Size and speed yes, offense mediocre and soft as a cat. I think the idea is that they can make him like Chara but I don't see it. DRW tried it with Telyakov, who is even bigger and he couldn't even cut it in the ECHL this year.

Kraskovsky I predicted would go and he did despite scouting agencies nailing him in the rankings.

Nice to see Kadeiken go to Detroit, didn't expect that, but very pleasantly surprised with that.

All 3 draft projected goalies were taken, solid. At the WJC again, we can look forward to solid goaltending.

Nekolenko mark my words will be drafted or signed in the future. IMO he is the highest end skill out of Russia. Sources say he was playing not 100% even when he returned... Very stupid for teams to punish guys who are injured in their draft year, its been done before, but I feel like teams will be fighting over him after the season is complete.

About Nekolenko and Gavrikov I think we have to face the fact that MHL is not scouted well and since those guys didn't make it to the KHL and also didn't show up at U18/U20 this year it shouldn't be a surprise that they weren't picked (unfortunately, I definitely like them). I was sceptical about Kraskovsky's chances (although I really like him too), but i believe again that size mattered this time. Again, no surprise with the goalies, it might sound strange that 3 goalies are selected, but then we have to remember that all of them got some reputation, only the overager or KHL contract stuff could hurt their chances, but I'm glad it didn't.

 

[Caser]

So, as I have already mentioned in the starting post, it should be fun to look back when all is said and done:

Selections

Scherbak - I guess no additional comments should be made about him, was drafted where he should be (ok, he might have gone a little bit higher) and Montreal should be a good team for him (btw, last time Montreal selected Russian player in a first round was back in 2001).

Goldobin - I thought that he might slip into the second round, but I feel that some of his agent's (Igor Larionov) old San Jose connections really might have helped him. Anyway, since Sharks are into rebuilding he should fit well there (btw, last time San Jose selected Russian player in a first round was back in 1996 )

Barbashev - I really was sure that he is a lock for a first round, but then scouts started questioning his offensive upside and that's where Russian factor came into play: if he won't be able to be a top-6 player, then the chances that he'll return to Russia are increasing. Anyway, St.Louis guys were fine with that and got him and now he ends up on the same team with Tarasenko (I have found them similar in terms of leadership and competitiveness) and former Moncton teammate Jaskin. So I guess a guy like Barbashev and Blues team should be close to a perfect match.

Kamenev - Nashville! Drafted a Russian!! As expected he was selected at the second round, but I certainly didn't thought that he would go to Nashville. If I remember correctly Nashville's center prospect pool is fine, so maybe they will make a winger out of him?

Letunov - with all respect to Letunov I just currently don't understand what is so special about him that he was selected as high as a second round (it's not a frustration, I just would like someone to explain it to me), as I was really doubting that he would be selected at all. The only thing I could think of is the college commitment, which basically guarantees that he doesn't go to Russia in the next 5 years.

Tryamkin - I'm not a big fan of him actually (if comparing with other overager defenders, I would select Mironov ahead of him and probably even Bereglazov), but he definitely got this size, so if he and Vancouver (by the way, another team that didn't draft Russians for some time - 7 years total) will be able to invest a lot of hard work into it, he might end up as a new Hal Gill.

Valiyev - I have expressed opinion that the progress is there, but since he is an overager we should wait another year, but I totally didn't consider draft strengths - this year it is not that strong comparing to the 2015 expectations, so this was the right time to select overagers. Although I will form my opinion about him after next season anyway. And yes, Toronto ended a 8 year stint without drafting Russians.

Sorokin - I certainly didn't expect him to be drafted before the late rounds (especially considering the 3 years on the KHL contract), but Islanders really would use an addition to their goalie prospect pool and I guess they are ok with the long term. Also it looked like this year is the right year to pick goalie prospects (I think it is more about skaters next year), so I guess the 3-rd round is reasonable.

Shestyorkin - well, my prediction totally worked out - Rangers in the 4-th round Actually it wasn't a prediction, since it was known that Rangers are interested and the 4-th round for him would be reasonable at any draft. This guy has got all the talent, but it will be interesting how his career will be going now, since his KHL team Spartak went bankrupt and now his rights belongs to SKA (according to eliteprospects, he still has got one contract year), but since SKA KHL team is pretty stacked at goalies, he will probably will get only a chance to play at VHL, which might be not that good in terms of development.

Kraskovsky - he was a last cut from my list, because I kind of didn't think that a bottom six projected KHL/MHL guy would really interest NHL teams, but he got the size and this draft is kind of special, so I'm not surprised anymore. More surprised that Winnipeg, even after Telegin and Burmistrov stories, are still interested in drafting Russians.

Fazleyev - he just didn't impress me at U18, that's why I wasn't high on him, but I still heard a lot of good things about him during this season, so I'm definitely fine with him.

Nalimov - I made a guess that some team might want to spent a pick to secure his services, but still wasn't sure, since he could also be signed by free agency. I guess he is going to NA right away, but there's a lot of work to do actually.

Kadeykin - the biggest surprise for me (Detroit strikes again at the 7-th round, that's why I love them ), I actually didn't include him in the overager list since he is 1993 born and I thought that he is just too old for this draft. Still will be interesting to follow him, looks like one more KHL year ahead and then probably the AHL.

Undrafted

Tkachev - I was very confident that this kind of skillset and some good QMJHL performance will deserve a pick and even as high as the 3-rd round, but size matters, yes, he will have to take Tolchinsky's path (unfortunately I don't think Barbashev can get him to St.Louis). Actually, as a fan, I kind of don't understand how it is possible not to spend even the 7-th round pick on a talent like that, since the risk is not very high and the possible reward could be extra high, but I guess this idea is out of reach for mortals like me.

Nekolenko - unfortunately injury totally spoiled this season and you can understand that you want your pick to be completely healthy. I hope that he will recover and have a breakthrough in the next few years, since he definitely got all the talent. Again, with all this Spartak bankrupt situation, it might be a good idea to consider crossing the pond for next season.

Nikolishin - almost the same as Tkachev, size just means too much this year, even the bloodline didn't help.

Lazarev - talented guy, but not a big one and also has missed a lot of time due to injuries, so in the end the talent was there, but the consistency wasn't and it is now clear that this year the talent itself is definitely not enough to be drafted.

Lyamkin - basically failed to properly and quickly adapt to NA hockey, still showed that he can play good at U18, but again that was not enough.

Gavrikov - I actually thought that he would be selected, since he is looking actually very good, but I guess you need to show up not only at MHL and SSS to be noticed.

Orlovich-Grudkov - this one was just my personal favorite, didn't expect him to be drafted actually. Anyway, it's kind of sad that MHL guys don't get any scout attention unless they show up at KHL or U18/U20 - if you look back, good game at MHL level was very frequently a sign of a good talent.

Conclusions

-This year's draft was really weak and that's why I think we experienced all those things with a lot of attention to overagers, goalies and frame size (the size is always an issue, but this year I think that was more than ever). Still the weakness of the draft resulted in some unusual teams willing to take a risk to go with Russians. Also noticed a lot of drafted players were from USHL, is it also just this year or this league have raised its overall level?

-13 Russians selected seems like a big number, but then we have to remember that there are 5 overagers and having only 8 players selected from this not very strong draft year is really nothing special.

-3 goalies selected is unusual, but actually kind of expected, since we all knew who it could be.

-MHL isn't considered by scouts as a league that should get a lot of attention and I think that if some teams will scout it more intense, they could find some gems there. But I guess it is a part of the overall talk that teams often just don't want to take any possible headache regarding Russian players coming over and the scouting is one of those headaches.

-Big group of 1996 born CHL based guys that crossed the pond last summer (Protapovich, Mikulovich, Lyamkin, Lazarev, Chirva, Sharipzyanov, Rasulov, Sleptsov, Zinovyev, Boikov, Yazkov, Sergeyev) while being considered as a quite a talented generation, are currently failing to perform at the expected level and therefore went undrafted. It looks to me that a lot of those guys just weren't ready mentally to play at CHL and (although I'm totally fine with the whole Russian players developing at CHL thing) you have to think that they may have developed better if they would've stayed in Russia. So I guess transferring to NA junior league isn't a one for all panacea (it still worked extremely good for Scherbak though and also for Fazleyev) and junior players and their agents should actually consider much careful if they are really ready for it.

-For those prospects in the 'Undrafted' section, I strongly recommend that you follow them next few years, because I'm pretty sure that they got the talent.

-And yes, looks like I'm totally bad at predictions, but it was still fun

 

[ozo]

Fantastic write-up, Caser! Would like to add that Kraskovsky is the third youngest player taken in entire draft so that also played a part in his selection as he almost has a year extra to develop his skills.

Now we need to start hyping 2015 draft prospects!

 

[Sweech]

I'm really happy that the Jets weren't turned off by the Burmistrov and Telegin situations and were willing to take the chance on a really young (third youngest in this draft) Russian player like Kraskovsky.

What about him suggests his upside is only that of a 3rd/4th liner? His production was similar to that of much higher rated Kamanev.

 

[GeauxPreds]

Nashville's center prospect pool is really shallow in terms of top end prospects, Kamenev will almost certainly stay there unless we bring in center FA's long term or draft a ton of more skilled centers between now and when he hits NA ice for us.

 

[Caser]

Fantastic write-up, Caser! Would like to add that Kraskovsky is the third youngest player taken in entire draft so that also played a part in his selection as he almost has a year extra to develop his skills.

Now we need to start hyping 2015 draft prospects!

Thanks ozo! Yeah, 2015 should be a great draft year, so much talent there and I really hope and feel that Svechnikov & Co will have something to bring there too. By the way, already started to prepare a watchlist for next season.

I'm really happy that the Jets weren't turned off by the Burmistrov and Telegin situations and were willing to take the chance on a really young (third youngest in this draft) Russian player like Kraskovsky.

What about him suggests his upside is only that of a 3rd/4th liner? His production was similar to that of much higher rated Kamanev.

Kraskovsky is a very unusual Russian prospect - big center that really excels at the defensive aspects of the game (I also noticed that it looks to me that he trully enjoys destroying other team's attacking efforts), still he is able to contribute at offense. If comparing to Kamenev, then I would say that Kamenev has much more offensive upside and also a little bit more physical. So yes, probably a bottom six projection with a lot of PK time (still there are certain situations and line combinations when it's good to use those kind of defensive specialists on top lines too).

Nashville's center prospect pool is really shallow in terms of top end prospects, Kamenev will almost certainly stay there unless we bring in center FA's long term or draft a ton of more skilled centers between now and when he hits NA ice for us.

I actually haven't followed Predators prospects for quite some time, are Sissons and Watson considered as a wing-only now?

 

[GeauxPreds]

They are both Centers, but Watson hasn't really shown that he has what it takes to be anything more than a #3 center in the NHL yet and Sissions when called up played the wing. The preds could move Kamenev to wing at some point and it will all depend on the center depth when he comes through finally(assuming he makes it to that level).

 

[ozo]

By the way, already started to prepare a watchlist for next season.

Eagerly anticipating your work.

Also, just read that Lazarev will attend Predators camp which takes place next week. So at least know that teams are aware of him and he will have a chance to earn his place through the backdoors.

 

[Meatwagon]

As far as Letunov goes, there was a recent article written about the Blues draft in the local paper and Blues head of scouting said something along the lines of Maxim has terrific hands and great vision but he needs to work on his strength and skating(which tend to go hand in hand). But with him being committed to a top NCAA program he will have the time to mature physically and mentally and the Blues see him as a top 6 center once he fully rounds into shape. Basically Bill Armstrong said, and I'm paraphrasing, he has the skills you can't teach and what he doesn't have you can. So they see him as a long term project with real upside, but it may take him5-6 years to make in to the NHL. After picking Fabbri AND Barbashev with their first two picks(still can't believe they got the 2 players I wanted the most) they could take a chance on a home run boom/bust type player.

I was also surprised to see him drafted that high, but really after the top ~50 prospects I don't really know anything about him, so Im no one to speak about his ceiling. But the reports I have read seems like the nucleus is there for a 6'2" skilled center, he just needs to put on at least 50 pounds. And living at an American college, he should have no problem doing that