F Vasili Atanasov - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, KHL (2021 Undrafted)

[B17 Apricots]

Vasili Atanasov - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Vasili Atanasov, 2002-09-25 Nizhny Tagil, RUS Russia. Most recently in the undefined with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

Didn't see a thread for him. Aged out of the draft last year, no teams were willing to take a flier on him. Got his first KHL season under his belt last year. Been exciting watching him to start the year. Kids on fire, 7 points in his first 3 games. One of a handful of young KHL players worth keeping a tab on in case they become part of the next crop to transition to North America.

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[Caser]

 

[henchman21]

He should be eligible for one more year in the draft, but after that he would be a free agent (ignoring the potential KHL contract issues).

 

[Caser]

He should be eligible for one more year in the draft, but after that he would be a free agent (ignoring the potential KHL contract issues).

Nope, the lower cutoff birth date is 1st of January (and not 15th of September like it is for the upper cutoff date), so 2002 borns and older won't be eligible for the draft anymore.

 

[henchman21]

Nope, the lower cutoff birth date is 1st of January (and not 15th of September like it is for the upper cutoff date), so 2002 borns and older won't be eligible for the draft anymore.

The cutoff date certainly changes for age 20+. My understanding though is the entry draft is in the current league year and through that he has to go through the draft once more before being eligible on July 1 24 to sign anywhere. Weird situation though since he’s a late 02 that never played in NA. I’m probably wrong though, rare situation.

IIRC his contract expires in 2025, that correct? I’d imagine that’s really the time that teams would look at him. If he keeps up his play. Always been a flash guy to me, maybe it finally clicked? Need to see more though.

 

[Too2train]

Been very impressive to watch. Watched him be a key factor for Chaika in their mhl championship, seems to have really clicked for him since then.

He’s my bet for the khl rookie of the year. I don’t see Igor decreasing workload or responsibility unless his play drastically falls off.

Will be interesting to watch his contract status and development over the next couple years for sure.

 

[Caser]

The cutoff date certainly changes for age 20+. My understanding though is the entry draft is in the current league year and through that he has to go through the draft once more before being eligible on July 1 24 to sign anywhere. Weird situation though since he’s a late 02 that never played in NA. I’m probably wrong though, rare situation.

IIRC his contract expires in 2025, that correct? I’d imagine that’s really the time that teams would look at him. If he keeps up his play. Always been a flash guy to me, maybe it finally clicked? Need to see more though.

The age stuff is defined by the CBA:

8.10 Age of Players. As used in this Article, "age 18" means a Player reaching his eighteenth
birthday between January 1 next preceding the Entry Draft and September 15 next following the Entry Draft, both dates included; "age 19" means a Player reaching his nineteenth birthday by no later than September 15 in the calendar year of the Entry Draft; "age 20" means a Player reaching his twentieth birthday by no later than December 31 in the calendar year of the Entry Draft; "age 21" means a Player reaching his twenty-first birthday by December 31 in the calendar year of the Entry Draft; and "age 22" means a Player reaching his twenty-second birthday by December 31 in the calendar year of the Entry Draft.

So by that definition Atanasov will be "age 22" and that is too old for the draft. Current KHL contract is until 2025, yes.

Been very impressive to watch. Watched him be a key factor for Chaika in their mhl championship, seems to have really clicked for him since then.

He’s my bet for the khl rookie of the year. I don’t see Igor decreasing workload or responsibility unless his play drastically falls off.

Will be interesting to watch his contract status and development over the next couple years for sure.

I'm not sure if he is eligible for the KHL rookie of the year, as he played a decent amount of games last season, but I don't exactly remember KHL's rules about that.

 

[Too2train]

I'm not sure if he is eligible for the KHL rookie of the year, as he played a decent amount of games last season, but I don't exactly remember KHL's rules about that.

Yeah seen he had games from the previous seasons under his belt & was unsure about cut offs as well.

Either way, definitely impressive stretch of hockey he has played recently.

 

[SlafySZN]

Why didn’t he get drafted?

Is it possible he doesn’t want to come to north america

 

[Garl]

Hot streak. But impressive anyway

 

[Kshahdoo]

Why didn’t he get drafted?

Is it possible he doesn’t want to come to north america

I doubt it, probably because he's overager and didn't have great playoffs. Still given who NHL teams sometimes spend their 7th rounders on, it's really strange nobody drafted him. Oh well, better for him, teams didn't wanna pick him, now he's gonna pick a team. Of course if he'll be considered good enough for NHL. At least he isn't undersized, can skate, score, pass and stickhandle.

 

[barriers]

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Is he a winger or center?

 

[Garl]

Is he a winger or center?

In KHL plays a wing so far

 

[Kshahdoo]

5'11, 148. Is he undersized or not?

 

[dyldude]

I liked Atanasov in his DY - thought he should have been drafted in the late rounds.

He seems to be a perfect fit in Torpedo's system. He plays with a lot of pace, quick passes, quick hands, and has turned into a pretty intelligent offensive threat. I don't really know about NHL upside, I think he profiles like a player whose game is made for the KHL. Maybe in a few years I'll be proven wrong, but he's definitely a ton of fun.

 

[Caser]

 

[Caser]

Why didn’t he get drafted?

Is it possible he doesn’t want to come to north america

In an interview he mentioned that there was no interest from any NHL team and even now he has talked only with the Predators scout.

 

[SlafySZN]

Holy hell, he looks good today.

Hat trick + assist in less than 2 periods.

 

[B17 Apricots]

f*** man, go catch some Torpedo games if you can... this kid is fun. 4 points so far today. Hat trick and an assist. I believe he missed eligibility by 10 days for the 2020 draft. So first year eligibility was 2021. Almost a year seperates them but Buchelnikov was the same draft year... a high profile overager that got taken in his D+1 in the 2nd round, similar situation to Atanasov. Fairly modest draft year.. rips up the MHL in their D+1. Buchelnikov, 75 points in 56 games. Atanasov, 67 points in 54 games... not too shabby. Atanasov was passed over though. Despite the extra year of Euro eligibility, establishing himself as a pro player in the KHL at 20, no teams chose to grab him. After this game this should bump him back up to the top 10 in scoring, at 21 years old, with modest usage

 

[SlafySZN]

 

[Musampa]

There will be a bidding war for him in the NHL in a couple of years. I just hope that until this moment he will stay away from SKA and CSKA. Panarin 2.0

 

[kp61c]

Strange there was no takers even in the 7th round last year. Very smart player.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Ten goals in 17 games? Is that a case of facing some of the weaker teams in the KHL or is this a guy that NHL scouts simply overlooked?

 

[Kshahdoo]

Ten goals in 17 games? Is that a case of facing some of the weaker teams in the KHL or is this a guy that NHL scouts simply overlooked?

He has some skill for sure, and playing under Larionov helps too. But I'd say he needs another season to prove this one isn't a fluke. Of course if he keeps playing like he does right now.