Vadim Shipachyov has never played an NHL game, but there are some things which we can be sure about before he hits the ice in Sin City.
First, and perhaps foremost, Shipachyov is a brilliant passer. Given time and space, the 30-year-old can thread the puck through a needle:
It's the closest thing to an alley-oop in hockey, as Shipachyov (#87) saucers it over Noah Hanifin for the Nikita Gusev (#97) slam dunk.
Speaking of saucers, both Grigory Panin (#57) and Mikhail Naumenkov (#38) can only watch the puck float over their sticks onto Gusev's blade.
Not impressed by a dish through two? How about through four?
After getting Connor Murphy to eat ice, Shipachyov sails the puck through Jack Eichel, Johnny Gaudreau, Anders Lee, and Danny DeKeyser to the point.
This is a one-timed pass beneath Marc-Édouard Vlasic's stick and onto Gusev's blade.
It's worth noting that Gusev is a Vegas prospect.
Besides this delicate touch with the puck, these highlights are also testament to Shipachyov's uncanny vision and patience. These qualities are on full display here:
The second that a forechecking Denis Zaripov (#25) raises his prying stick, Shipachyov fires a bullet through defenders Chris Lee (#4) and Alexei Bereglazov (#51), springing Evgeni Dadonov for the breakaway.
Anyway, we all know that he can be a highlight reel playmaker. But what's less known about the Strip's newest star?
How Good Will Shipachyov Be at Faceoffs?
The Russian is expected to handle top-line center duties for the expansion entry. This will mean many faceoffs.
Over a nine-year KHL career, Shipachyov has won 52.1% of his draws. Not bad, right? Except consider this comprehensive list of centers who have taken 1000+ regular season draws in both the KHL and the NHL -- you'll see that KHL success doesn't necessarily translate:
It's reasonable to expect that Shipachyov will win less than half of his faceoffs over here.
Is Shipachyov a Defensive Liability?
The stereotype for a high-scoring KHL import is "one-dimensional," but that's not the case with Shipachyov. While he's not going to challenge for a Selke, I've been consistently impressed by his alertness on the other side of the puck. His head is always on a swivel, as he sorts out his man and anticipates the play:
Watch the front of the net, as Shipachyov ties up Eichel, preventing a tap-in goal.
Here, Shipachyov goes head to head against the KHL's leading scorer Sergei Mozyakin (#10). While the 6'0" pivot isn't much of a physical presence, his smarts should be enough for most defensive match-ups.
How Does Shipachyov Create Space on the Power Play?
So far at all levels, Shipachyov has dominated the right half wall on the man advantage. Despite his somewhat-slight frame, how has he managed to control this all-important space? And what effect does this have on the penalty killers?
In the KHL, Shipachyov is usually given a wide berth in "his office" -- a probable sign of the respect that he's earned over the years. There's a reason why he led the league in assists in 2015-16.
But when you crowd him, you can see why it's often for the best to give him his space, and instead, focus on taking away his passing options.
Shipachyov has a sense of the last possible second that he can move the puck. Here, he lures Oskar Osala (#62) toward him, which naturally, opens up a fat lane for Ilya Kovalchuk, who's stalking the slot.
For most players, it's not an easy backhand pass through pressure, but as usual, Shipachyov delivers a soft as butter biscuit. Because Osala overextended himself, now Evgeny Timkin (#23) tries to cover Kovalchuk. But this just opens Gusev, who's standing near the left dot, for the one-timer.
At this point, the Metallurg PK is in disarray, and fittingly, Shipachyov cleans up the garbage.
Fitting because it was Shipachyov's sense of space, timing, and touch which knocked the first domino, Osala, down.
And while we're not sure yet how Shipachyov's "You reach, I'll teach" methodology will translate to the NHL, this clip against USA's aggressive penalty kill suggests that he'll keep his patience against even the most disciplined PK'ers:
In fact, a better Dadonov (#63) pass to Anton Belov (#77), and Russia has a Grade-A scoring opportunity in part because of Shipachyov's command of his territory.
What Else Is Special About Shipachyov?
Shipachyov has led SKA in Penalties Drawn in each of the last three years (on khl.ru, the stat shows up as Foul Against/FAO). In 2015-16, he was second in the entire league.
This stat might be surprising considering Shipachyov's general lack of physicality. But he's also an elusive skater who always has the puck, and therefore, always being chased.
Considering that the KHL has only tracked FAO since 2014-15, it's hard to judge how this stat will translate. The NHL itself just started tracking the stat in 2009-10.
Recent KHL leaders in this category who have also skated at least a full NHL season since 2009-10 include Sobotka, Alexander Burmistrov, Alexander Radulov, Gilbert Brule, Nigel Dawes, Peter Regin, Artemi Panarin, and Andrei Kostitsyn. For the majority of these players, especially Sobotka, Burmistrov, and Radulov, this ability seems to have carried over to the NHL.
How Many Points Should We Expect from Shipachyov?
Ideally, Shipachyov is probably an excellent second-line center on a contender.
He owns some staggering skills, but his first step can be a little slow. Obviously, his somewhat-slight frame will work against him in smaller rinks and a more physical league.
I also don't envision him being a prolific goalscorer. Before last season, his KHL career shooting % was 13.1 -- then he rang up a career-high 26 goals, riding an unsustainable 27.1 success rate.
Over his KHL career, he's averaged just 2 shots a game. That's recent Anze Kopitar territory.
So he's a playmaker first, and there's nothing wrong with that.
A 15-40-55 line would be my prediction this year.
Special thanks to Patrick Conway for his invaluable aid on this piece. KHL stats as of 9.6.17.
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