A lot of people on here know me to follow a lot of the KHL and MHL, as well as the draft. The trend since 2006 has been a sharp decline in Russian players being drafted. Only Tampa Bay and LA (Who has never had luck with them) seem to champion the cause of drafting them. This is strictly for the Russian players coming out of Russia and not those that make the wise move of joining the CHL or USNDP. The pure facts out there show that NHL teams are quite happy to never draft Russian grinders as the probability of their coming over are extremely minimal. Thus we usually see only the top skilled players who possess elite abilities. This past draft saw 11 Russian born players drafted...only 6 were actually playing in the Motherland.
What this tells me is that more and more Russian born players with serious aspirations of NHL stardom will join the NA leagues. It has become a miniature ritual to prove that you want no part of the KHL...of course that isn’t really true as the Quebec Remparts hero Alex Radulov will tell you. Yet the symbolic gesture is still seen as legitimate. The biggest case of this is another Remparts, Mikhail Grigorenko who left CSKA to join the QMJHL on advice from his agent Igor Larionov to help him get drafted. Grigorenko spent the rest of the year trying to prove that he wanted to play in the NHL by saying the right things in interviews and battling through an ankle injury and mononucleosis all while being bashed continuously by the main and not so main media. Hell Grigorenko just convinced his best friend and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Nikita Kucherov to join Quebec next season to play with him. So in the future we can expect this kind of “defection” from some of the prominent young stars.
As far as this draft goes the most prominent name not to get called at all was LW Anton Slepyshev. I got pretty burned by this since I was saying his praise for about two years now. What most don’t know is that Slepyshev (ranked 18th overall by most guides) told in interviews to the NHL brass that he would not leave Russia until he was 22 finishing a 4 year deal with his home club Metallurg Novokuznetsk. He sited the fact that he wanted his family to be financially stable before ever considering a move to NA. What that says to me is simple. In two years teams will be looking to call his name knowing they could retain his rights. A lot of people were seriously befuddled as to why nobody took a chance on him in the 7th round instead of say...a 20 year old 5’8 goalie from High School or something...well it’s because they would lose his rights. I hope he finds his way to the NHL, because he is personally my favourite young riser in the KHL right now.
19. Andrei Vasilevski Tampa Bay Lightning
I have to hand it to Yzerman, the man has balls...that and maybe a lot of faith in Larionov and Fedorov. Since taking over as GM he has shown a penchant for drafting skill regardless of nationality or injury. These kinds of habits inevitably lead to boom/bust scenarios, with the booms always taking precedence. With Vasilevski Tampa gets the best goalie in the draft. Massive at 6’3 and extremely athletic for his size, Vasilevski takes away a lot of net from shooters. He has been an international star for about 3 years, making his mark on the big screen last year with his jaw dropping U20 WJC. He was by far the best goalie in the MHL last year despite playing on a very weak defensive squad in Tolpar Ufa. He has all the tools to be a starter, including the mental game. He has taken some piss poor backchecking Russian teams deep in international hockey. There is a rumour that he might go to the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Ufa wants to lock him into a 3 year deal.
114. Alexander Delnov Florida Panthers
I was honestly a little confused when he became the second MHLer drafted, he was not even close to the top in terms of skill and...well most things. The best thing about him is his hands. His moves in the shootout are just sickening to watch. The kid is a master at pulling rabbits out of his hat. The problem is that the rest of his game is lacking. He’s got decent speed, but nothing special. He has a decent shot, but isn’t a sniper. There are times when he lays out a massive hit in extreme frustration, but those are few and far between. All in all I expect that like Pavel Datsyuk did, they hope elite hands can be developed into a better overall player. Perhaps the most redeeming quality about him is that he will likely join the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL this season.
121. Nikolai Prokhorkin Los Angeles Kings
The highest ranked Russian league forward by a lot of scouting agencies saw his stock drop into the laps of the Kings. Regarded as an Alex Semin style player in both build and skill, Prokhorkin was electric in the MHL last season. He destroyed the competition in junior and showed his ability to be an offensive force. Consistency is an issue like many high end players that rely on skill, and he can disappear at times. Yet his speed, shooting ability and just pure instincts are phenomenal. That said however, he needs to tune up his defensive game a lot if he wants to play in the NHL or he will find his way a la Filatov. The London Knights used a 1st rounder on him at the import draft and they rarely make mistakes...really interested to see if he comes over.
201. Valeri Vasilyev Philadelphia Flyers
Vasilyev was the top ranked defenseman from the MHL this year and is a very simple player. He’s a defensive defender that is adept at blocking shots and stick checking opponents. He has extremely quick skating ability which is weird for a player like him, and he is very strong at anticipating the play. The reason why he fell so far in my opinion is that a player like him may be hard to drag out of the KHL since he will likely be a 5-6 guy in the NHL. Those kinds of guys usually just stay in Russia. He has a man’s frame at 6’1 213 and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is called up to the KHL next year for long stints.
202. Nikita Gusev Tampa Bay Lightning
Man if they had drafted Grigorenko they would have the three musketeers. Gusev is an overager passed over twice before in the draft due to his size (5’9). He has been the most prolific point producer in the MHL for the past three seasons and has played with Lightning prospect Kucherov for several years, including a line of Kucherov-Grigorenko-Gusev that looked very good before Grigo’s injury. At 202 why the hell not right? Extremely quick hands, feet, mind for the attack and a whole host of offensive skills are rare this late. Defensively...well he doesn’t know the word. I like this pick from Tampa, they got good value. Hell he’s pretty much scored a goal a game every playoffs for Moskva.
203. Sergei Kostenko Washington Capitals
Meh. The overage 19 year old is an extreme long shot at ever making the NHL. He’s a small reactionary goalie and is very inconsistent. When he’s on his game he is hard to beat with his extreme quickness and flexibility, then he gets tired as the game goes on and just makes lapses. He’s far too active in his crease to be effective, but then with his size he needs to be. I don’t think his game is going to be compatible with the NHL unless he gets into much better shape.
Thanks for reading.
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