RW Vitaly Kravtsov - Traktor Chelyabinsk, KHL (2018, 9th, NYR)

[QJL]

That draft video from sportsnet kind of encapsulates the whole thing, he gets picked at 9, the panel is shocked, and then they start talking about his season and seemingly back track their shock to “this kid could be one of the better players in the draft, but in a few years if he decides to come over.”

Can’t wait for Kravt mac n cheese to light up the NHL next season

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Huge gamble imo.

Would have picked Whalstrom instead of a player who started to show flashes of skill in the playoffs at the end of the season but never was top 10 material before that.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Huge gamble imo.

Would have picked Whalstrom instead of a player who started to show flashes of skill in the playoffs at the end of the season but never was top 10 material before that.

Not a huge gamble at all.

 

[tfong]

Huge gamble imo.

Would have picked Whalstrom instead of a player who started to show flashes of skill in the playoffs at the end of the season but never was top 10 material before that.

A player developing and maturing is a thing.

As did his increase in ice time. I mean he was already considered a strong pick due to being able to play in the KHL already and not at their jr MHL league.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Nvm

 

[Thrasymachus]

who cares if he was projected to go slightly later..

I remember when people mocked the Jets for taking Scheifle "early"

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Huge gamble imo.

Would have picked Whalstrom instead of a player who started to show flashes of skill in the playoffs at the end of the season but never was top 10 material before that.

There are some of us who had him in and around the top 10 before the playoffs. Some others changed their opinion after the playoffs. Some didn't change their opinion. There is no right answer yet. Eventually we'll find out who was right.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

There are some of us who had him in and around the top 10 before the playoffs. Some others changed their opinion after the playoffs. Some didn't change their opinion. There is no right answer yet. Eventually we'll find out who was right.

I am more interested in the scouting services than posters here.

But yes, eventually we will find out.

 

[tfong]

Well if you're only referencing media rankings then yes its a pretty big gamble. Nobody had him in their top 10. I think the closest was Mckenzie at 12. Think some of the other places had him as higher but as non pro scout sources. I mean if you look at his lower tier stats it does show you a picture of his skill level since he was way too good for that level and Denisenko was playing MHL and picked pretty early too.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

who cares if he was projected to go slightly later..

I remember when people mocked the Jets for taking Scheifle "early"

Yup...Or even fans were laughing at CBJ when they took PLD at #3.

Every team has different rankings... They dont follow any mock drafts or blogs like majority of people do on here do and then critize thosr teams with different rankings even though they have actually seen all these guys play multiple times LIVE.

 

[93LEAFS]

Well if you're only referencing media rankings then yes its a pretty big gamble. Nobody had him in their top 10. I think the closest was Mckenzie at 12. Think some of the other places had him as higher but as non pro scout sources. I mean if you look at his lower tier stats it does show you a picture of his skill level since he was way too good for that level and Denisenko was playing MHL and picked pretty early too.

HockeyProspect.com had him at 6.

I'd add this, I'd be pretty surprised if any service outside of CSB got a single live viewing of him this year due to the fact he played for a far-out KHL team and didn't play in any international tournament. Guys like Denisenko got live viewings due to being at major tournaments.

who cares if he was projected to go slightly later..

I remember when people mocked the Jets for taking Scheifle "early"

I don't think this pick should be mocked, but I've seen the exact opposite happen. I remember people here mocking Senyshyn over Barzal and Connor or Hickey being taken at 4. It goes both ways.

 

[haveandare]

Huge gamble imo.

Would have picked Whalstrom instead of a player who started to show flashes of skill in the playoffs at the end of the season but never was top 10 material before that.

Not really a gamble IMO. He's already succeeded against men and with middling talent relative to the league around him. Wahlstrom is more a gamble in that all his success comes as a pretty big kid playing against other kids on teams that have tons of top tier talent up and down the lineup.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Not really a gamble IMO. He's already succeeded against men and with middling talent relative to the league around him. Wahlstrom is more a gamble in that all his success comes as a pretty big kid playing against other kids on teams that have tons of top tier talent up and down the lineup.

Kravtsov had a good playoffs, a total of 16 games..
He needs to prove a lot more against men.

Lots of good NHL players have entered the league from National US under -18 teams lately.

I would slow down a bit.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Kravtsov had a good playoffs, a total of 16 games..
He needs to prove a lot more against men.

Lots of good NHL players have entered the league from National US under -18 teams lately.

I would slow down a bit.

He had a good full season, he had a record breaking playoff performance

 

[haveandare]

Kravtsov had a good playoffs, a total of 16 games..
He needs to prove a lot more against men.

Lots of good NHL players have entered the league from National US under -18 teams lately.

I would slow down a bit.

Slow down with what? Everything is said is 100% true. Kravstov did well against men playing with ok talent relative to his league. Wahlstrom did well as a big kid against other kids with a ton of talent around him.

It doesn't mean one player will be better than the other or one will or won't bust or anything, I'm just pointing these things out to counter the idea that Kravstov over Wahlstrom was a gamble. I personally place a lot of value in success against men pre-draft.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Kravtsov is considered a gamble because he comes from Russia, Wahlstrom is considered a sure thing because he comes from NA. Its as if some believe Kravtsov is going to join some Siberian tribe for the rest of his life. The whole "Russian factor" thing is a fake threat to begin with. Kravtsov will be over here as soon as he's ready.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Slow down with what? Everything is said is 100% true. Kravstov did well against men playing with ok talent relative to his league. Wahlstrom did well as a big kid against other kids with a ton of talent around him.

It doesn't mean one player will be better than the other or one will or won't bust or anything, I'm just pointing these things out to counter the idea that Kravstov over Wahlstrom was a gamble. I personally place a lot of value in success against men pre-draft.

Slow down with your argument about Wahlstrom, just because you cant cope with a different opinion. Now its suddenly a negative factor because someone is big and plays with good players around him while the league is filled with college kids. Wahlstrom constantly was a top 10 pick, Kravstsov wasnt.

Its no science, we will see, but as for now I would not have gambled with Kravtsov if I had the 9th overall pick, with Wahlstrom still available.

 

[kelsier]

Thought he was really impressive last season. Not an easy task to break into top six while being draft eligible kid in the KHL. There's not much not to like about Kratsov, considering he could already challenge much older players in the second best league in the world. Didn't expect anything of the kind and he should be ready to step in to smaller rinks after a year. A great pick.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Slow down with your argument about Wahlstrom, just because you cant cope with a different opinion. Now its suddenly a negative factor because someone is big and plays with good players around him while the league is filled with college kids. Wahlstrom constantly was a top 10 pick, Kravstsov wasnt.

Its no science, we will see, but as for now I would not have gambled with Kravtsov if I had the 9th overall pick, with Wahlstrom still available.

Guess we'll see.

 

[Atas2000]

Its as if some believe Kravtsov is going to join some Siberian tribe for the rest of his life.

Just imagine he did... I'd pay to watch the ****storm plunge.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

who cares if he was projected to go slightly later..

I remember when people mocked the Jets for taking Scheifle "early"

Winnipeg was considered to have totally beefed that draft back in 2011

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

You said, and I quote:



That's implying HFNYR is racist because we supposedly want 2 eastern Europeans to be friends. As if we can't tell the difference between a Czech and a Russian.

We wanted Kravstov toplay with Chytil becaused they looked dominant together in rookie camp, not becuase they're both eastern European.

That's not racism. Unless society has changed the definition again.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I am more interested in the scouting services than posters here.

But yes, eventually we will find out.

McKenzie had him at 12, Hockey-prospects had him at 6. Central Scouting had him at 3 (EU skaters), and then there's this:

 

[ProspectsSTC]

Kravtsov is considered a gamble because he comes from Russia, Wahlstrom is considered a sure thing because he comes from NA. Its as if some believe Kravtsov is going to join some Siberian tribe for the rest of his life. The whole "Russian factor" thing is a fake threat to begin with. Kravtsov will be over here as soon as he's ready.

I haven't really seen anyone say Wahlstrom is a sure thing

 

[Kshahdoo]

I haven't really seen anyone say Wahlstrom is a sure thing

Aha, so nobody has ever called him a future 40 goal scorer, good to know.