elaborate on Denisenko? Is he not able to use that skill and skating ability because of low hockey sense? Low motor? What did you not like?
He seems like the most skilled player in the draft to me.
For whatever reason, he has shown basically no growth in his MHL numbers from last year. 22 points in 31 games is flat-out mediocre for a dynamic, potential high pick with his hype. Loko Yaroslavl is one of the top teams and scoring teams in the MHL, so that's not a reason (he plays ~2nd line and PP1 from my viewings). As I said, his WJAC holds a lot of weight. I'm sure his u18s next month will be big for his stock too. If you want to use a high pick on him, you have to be able to explain away his season. I'm not sure anyone has besides chalking it up to "inconsistency." Then you have to explain why you're confident it will go away. Drafting smaller, mercurial players high is a risky proposition, exponentially so when they aren't doing the primary thing they should: scoring. He really doesn't strike me as a player the Flyers would pick anyway. But I'm curious to see where he goes on draft day. I do wonder, barring a huge u18s, if there's a chance he slips to the 2nd. That lowers the risk factor.
I find it hard to pinpoint my exact issue when watching him. For an undersized finesse player I don't demand you be a defensive wizard or physical presence.........but I would expect you to routinely dominate your shifts offensively. He doesn't do it enough. But I don't think he's remotely low IQ. I think his positioning is generally fine off puck, and he understands how to cycle. He's a floater like skilled wingers float, but it's not a matter of being lost on the ice. He'll move pucks, though sometimes it feels like he moves them TOO quick, as in he could do more with his ability but isn't attacking enough.
Low motor? Warmer. He does have an air of passivity at times; no one would confuse him with "gritty." On big ice that can fly better than small ice. He can be a bit disengaged off the puck, little too reach happy instead of using his body, sometimes too perimeter........but not enough where it's a no-go because he
does show it in spurts, and with the puck he can come alive. It's why I don't
dislike him. He shows you the pieces. I hate dumb players outright; he's not dumb. As it goes with him, you just don't know what you'll get shift to shift, let alone game to game. It doesn't feel like he plays with the puck enough (usually a telltale sign for skilled guys) or control his shifts to me. There's your "inconsistency."
His games are here (
МХЛ) if you're interested. #14 on Локо.
