King Weber
Registered User
- Apr 9, 2015
- 4,616
- 1,592
Looking forward to seeing him in Edmonton. Have the Predators offered a timetable as to when he arrives in North America?
For his size he’s very physical and he holds his own very well. Really loving the pick.Really like watching Chistyakov play. For a smaller guy, he hits like a truck. Did really well yesterday against the US.
I thought he had a very good game today. He always finishes his check, and for a smaller guy is surprisingly effective when he does. He will skate or move the puck pretty well. Not flashy, but very solid, good to see him recognized with the watch tonight as one of the top 3 players for the team.
They spread the icetime a bit more evenly in the Bronze medal game, so I thought he didn't stand out quite as much in that last one. But still this was a very nice tournament for him. I guess it's not really a revelation to people who watch more international hockey than I do, since he was already seeing time as a teenager with Avangard and already noted for his role on that Karjala Cup team. But yes, he did seem to be their top defender. In a way, that's a little bit of an indictment of the lack of star power on the Russian defense, since otherwise you might like his mix of skills to ideally fill more of a steady 2nd pair role? They didn't really have flashy skills or standout talent on that blueline.I watched every game for them and I'm not even saying this through Preds-colored glasses but I think he was their best defenseman and might've even been their best player. A part of that is Russia overall having a weak tournament but even still, Chistyakov was rock-solid.