A recent question from the guys at Illegal Curve is the inspiration for this blog. The fellas wanted to know about Russians for the upcoming draft. We here at The Pipeline Show pride ourselves on knowing the draft (Guy went 27-30 last year and has pegged 3 of the last 4 Oilers first round picks) so I thought I would throw my two cents out and try to answer the question.
It doesn't appear to be a good year for Russians in Montreal this June, in fact I don't think a Russian will be taken in the first round, which hasn't happened since 2005 when the first Russian, Vitali Anikeyenko was taken in the 3rd round, 70th overall by Ottawa. According ISS, which is the exclusive scouting source for TPS, there isn't a Russian ranked in the first round, which does include 7 Europeans. In fact the highest ranked Russian among the top 30 Euros is Anton Burdasov, who is rated 11th among those from across the pond. Burdasov was supposed to be in Camrose with the Russian team for the World Junior A Challenge, but an injury kept him off the team. The next highest Ruskie is D-man Dmitry Orlov, who is suiting up in Camrose. I thought Orlov, who is listed at 5.11 and 176 pounds played a decent game Tuesday night. For a small player, he is above average on the physical side, and didn't make it fun to park in front of the net for Canadian players. He's a good skater, but does paint himself into a corner sometimes when carrying the puck out of his own end, by either making one to many moves, or waiting to long to make a pass. The only other Russian ranked in the top 30 Europeans is Georgy Berkyukov, who I didn't notice at all Tuesday night.
However, keep your eye on Mother Russia for 2010 as there could be a boatload drafted in the first round. The leader of the pack is Kirill Kabanov, as guy talked about earlier this week. While he does have a wicked shot, he's also very emotional, and that could scare teams in the top 3 away. Some have compared him to Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin, and yet some say he's better than those two at his age which is 16 right now. I was really impressed Tuesday night with Maxim Kitsin, who will turn 17 in December and is already 6.03 and almost 180 pounds. He played in every situation, and for me was Russia's most dangerous player. Vladamir Tarasenko is another Russian getting a lot of hype in draft circles, as Guy pointed out in an earlier post, he did score a beauty of a goal, but seem to disappear as the game wore on and Canada became more physical. In fact the only time I noticed him after the first period was when Guy pointed him out to me.
We will be running a feature this Tuesday on Team Russia where we get more in depth about the countries draft prospects for the 2009 and 2010 draft.
We would have loved to speak to some of the Russians Tuesday night but were told - at first by Hockey Canada - that we weren't allowed to. Which is kind of like Edmonton Oilers PR man JJ Hebert telling the media that after a game against Minnesota we wouldn't be allowed to talk to Wild players. After some of us (Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun, Cam Tait of the Edmonton Journal and myself) raised a bit of a fuss, Hockey Canada changed it's story and said it was the Russians that didn't want to speak, which was kind of funny since Hockey Canada member Jason Larose had earlier mentioned to me that he hadn't asked the Russians about it, and that it was his decision. I have no problem with a team saying they won't talk. I don't agree with it, but it is their decision. What I had a big problem with was Hockey Canada deciding that the Russians weren't talking, after a rough game in which Team Canada West received the benefit of some brutal officiating. The Russians embarrassed themselves with childish antics and obscene gestures ( Cam Tait has more on this story in his blog as well) and I think HC was hoping to avoid negative publicity. In this case mission failed. Eventually, a women who I think was the Russian translator told us "no comment" which we accepted.
Back to the team, I am really looking forward to seeing the Russian World Junior squad at the 2010 and 2011 tournaments as there will be some extremely exciting players to watch.
Showing posts with label Terasenko (Vladimir). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terasenko (Vladimir). Show all posts
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
WJAC Update
Last week I boldly precicted that the gold medal game at the 2008 World Junior A Challenge would feature Canada West and Team USA. In response to that prediction both teams fell flat in their opening game and were upset by far weaker opponents.
Two days after Belarus downed Canada West in a shootout it was the Americans who got caught napping and allowed Germany to overcome a 2-0 deficit and skate away with a 5-2 victory.
The Germans actually looked pretty darn good at times although it should be kept in mind that their team is almost all 18 and 19-year-olds... only one player on the roster is draft eligible for the first time this year.
Still, Germany had solid performances from three players in particular, at least in my opinion. #22, Toni Ritter, had a great goal on a nifty slap shot from the side wall that caught the American goalie a bit by surprise. Ritter has nice wheels, good size and played with a bit of a jump.
#23 Steven Rupprich stood out for me today with his tenacity, speed and playmaking. He was creative, not always successful but I like to see players who think outside the box sometimes and he did that. He had 2 helpers.
I also thought David Wolf, #11, was pretty impressive. He too has size and speed to his credit. He didn't impact the scoresheet tonight but I thought he contributed plenty.
The Americans were not all that good, perhaps 4 days of waiting around for their first game was a factor?
Seth Helgeson is a force though; at 6'5 he's easy to pick out of a crowd and he plays pretty tough. John Moore had some good moments too.
I was a bit disappointed that Mike Lee didn't get the nod in goal but assume that it was the token game for Joe Howe and that we'll see the top draft eligible USHL goalie the rest of the way.
The late game saw Canada West take on Russia and it was a wild affair. Russia completely dominated at times during the opening period, had a big lead in shots at one point and carried a 1-0 lead into the second period.
Then things got a little ugly. The scoresheet has Russia taking 10 straight penalties in the middle frame and considering Canada scored 5 power play goals on the night... well you can see where this is going right?
The Russians were completely pissed off at the officiating and in some cases I think they had a right to be. One of Russia's star players, and I assume a favorite of Barry Manilow, Kirill "Copa" Kabanov was hit from behind and left the game early in the 3rd period... no call.
It was a very undisciplined game from both sides at times but much moreso from Russia. Still, there were some standout performances from the visitors too.
#23 Maxim Kitsin was dangerous all night. He's got really good size, speed and hands. Drives to the net, plays tough, sets stuff up and can finish too. He looks really promising already for 2010.
The first goal of the game went to #10 Vladimir Terasenko who dazzled with an individual effort by beating a defenceman one-on-one before lifting the puck passed Canadian goalie Kevin Genoe. Another fast and gritty forward but doesn't have the size that Kitsin or Kabanov have.
Speaking of Kabanov... he's getting a lot of hype for 2010 already, one scout I talked to tongiht suggested he's the best bet if you're looking for someone to push Taylor Hall as the #1 overall pick in 2010. Yet, another NHL scout I checked in with gave Kabanov a big thumbs down for his undisciplined and somewhat selfish play. His brutally late interference after a whistle directly led to Canada's second goal... the eventual winner. As I mentioned, he left the game in the third due to an undisclosed injury but as Millard pointed out, he was so far in the doghouse by that point he might not have played much in the period anyway.
Canada looked awful in the first period but got it going in the second. Boris Rybalka explained how in his postgame discussion with the assembled media.
BCHL goalie Kevin Genoe, a free agent if a WHL team is looking, played very well outside of a bad second goal to Russia. However, in the first when his team needed him the most, Genoe was a wall. Millard and I spoke with him after the game too about the tournament, how he got here and where he hopes the exposure will take him.
Player of the Game for Canada though was 16-year-old Jaden Schwartz. He was drafted by the Tri-City Americans whose GM, Bob Torrey, was in the building tonight and liked what he saw. Dean and I also spoke with the Notre Dame Hound after the game.
More as the week continues...
(PHOTOS COURTESY: LA Media & Hockey Canada)
Two days after Belarus downed Canada West in a shootout it was the Americans who got caught napping and allowed Germany to overcome a 2-0 deficit and skate away with a 5-2 victory.
The Germans actually looked pretty darn good at times although it should be kept in mind that their team is almost all 18 and 19-year-olds... only one player on the roster is draft eligible for the first time this year.Still, Germany had solid performances from three players in particular, at least in my opinion. #22, Toni Ritter, had a great goal on a nifty slap shot from the side wall that caught the American goalie a bit by surprise. Ritter has nice wheels, good size and played with a bit of a jump.
#23 Steven Rupprich stood out for me today with his tenacity, speed and playmaking. He was creative, not always successful but I like to see players who think outside the box sometimes and he did that. He had 2 helpers.
I also thought David Wolf, #11, was pretty impressive. He too has size and speed to his credit. He didn't impact the scoresheet tonight but I thought he contributed plenty.
The Americans were not all that good, perhaps 4 days of waiting around for their first game was a factor?
Seth Helgeson is a force though; at 6'5 he's easy to pick out of a crowd and he plays pretty tough. John Moore had some good moments too.
I was a bit disappointed that Mike Lee didn't get the nod in goal but assume that it was the token game for Joe Howe and that we'll see the top draft eligible USHL goalie the rest of the way.
The late game saw Canada West take on Russia and it was a wild affair. Russia completely dominated at times during the opening period, had a big lead in shots at one point and carried a 1-0 lead into the second period.
Then things got a little ugly. The scoresheet has Russia taking 10 straight penalties in the middle frame and considering Canada scored 5 power play goals on the night... well you can see where this is going right?
The Russians were completely pissed off at the officiating and in some cases I think they had a right to be. One of Russia's star players, and I assume a favorite of Barry Manilow, Kirill "Copa" Kabanov was hit from behind and left the game early in the 3rd period... no call.
It was a very undisciplined game from both sides at times but much moreso from Russia. Still, there were some standout performances from the visitors too.
#23 Maxim Kitsin was dangerous all night. He's got really good size, speed and hands. Drives to the net, plays tough, sets stuff up and can finish too. He looks really promising already for 2010.
The first goal of the game went to #10 Vladimir Terasenko who dazzled with an individual effort by beating a defenceman one-on-one before lifting the puck passed Canadian goalie Kevin Genoe. Another fast and gritty forward but doesn't have the size that Kitsin or Kabanov have.
Speaking of Kabanov... he's getting a lot of hype for 2010 already, one scout I talked to tongiht suggested he's the best bet if you're looking for someone to push Taylor Hall as the #1 overall pick in 2010. Yet, another NHL scout I checked in with gave Kabanov a big thumbs down for his undisciplined and somewhat selfish play. His brutally late interference after a whistle directly led to Canada's second goal... the eventual winner. As I mentioned, he left the game in the third due to an undisclosed injury but as Millard pointed out, he was so far in the doghouse by that point he might not have played much in the period anyway.
Canada looked awful in the first period but got it going in the second. Boris Rybalka explained how in his postgame discussion with the assembled media.BCHL goalie Kevin Genoe, a free agent if a WHL team is looking, played very well outside of a bad second goal to Russia. However, in the first when his team needed him the most, Genoe was a wall. Millard and I spoke with him after the game too about the tournament, how he got here and where he hopes the exposure will take him.
Player of the Game for Canada though was 16-year-old Jaden Schwartz. He was drafted by the Tri-City Americans whose GM, Bob Torrey, was in the building tonight and liked what he saw. Dean and I also spoke with the Notre Dame Hound after the game.
More as the week continues...
(PHOTOS COURTESY: LA Media & Hockey Canada)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)