Prospect Info: Flames Pick Yan Kuznetsov at 50th

[IceColdOx]

Russian defenceman Yan Kuznetsov has been playing in North America for the last two seasons. He spent this past season playing in the NCAA with the University of Connecticut Huskies. Kuznetsov was one of the youngest players in college hockey. He scored two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 34 games this season. Kuznetsov also played six games for the Russian Under-18 National Team, picking up one assist. He also played for Russia in the World Junior A Hockey Challenge, picking up one assist in five games and helping the team to a gold medal.

Last season, he played for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL. Kuznetsov scored four assists in 34 games. While he didn’t play in the playoffs due to injury, he was a big part of the club that went on to win the Clark Cup. Kuznetsov also played for Team Russia at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, picking up one assist in six games and again helping the club to win a gold medal. Overall in 10 games with the Russian Under-17 National team, he scored one goal and two assists for three points.

Yan Kuznetsov Scouting Report: 2020 NHL Draft #69

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[Flames Fanatic]

Kinda whelmed. DFF should be happy.

 

[super6646]

Mehhhh

 

[Mobiandi]

- College guy
- Russian

hmmm

 

[DCDM]

Well, okay then.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

They just said on Sportsnet that scouts compared him to Muzzin.
If he turns out, it is a need

 

[Flames Fanatic]

They just said on Sportsnet that scouts compared him to Muzzin.
If he turns out, it is a need

Last Word's comparison is Zybnek Michalek.

 

[Kranix]

They just said on Sportsnet that scouts compared him to Muzzin.
If he turns out, it is a need

We shall see in 5-6 years

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Last Word's comparison is Zybenk Michalek.

I'd hope Kuznetsov is more physical.

 

[Flames Fanatic]

who?

Zbynek Michalek Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com

Long time top 4 D that was derailed by injuries in his later years.

 

[Dack]

Not a big fan of that pick hopefully it works out.

He only had 6 less points than Holloway and is a younger d man but reading his prospect thread it sounds like he has almost no offense.

 

[DFF]

Kinda whelmed. DFF should be happy.

Yes big strong defensive type

Only draw back is ranked highly by his idiot brother craig at #32

 

[crackdown44]

Fellas not a lot of points. Not great teams. BUST

 

[Flames Fanatic]

 

[Mobiandi]

We've had a lot of flashy 2nd round picks over the years and the more I read about this, the more it seems like this is an overly safe pick for our standards

 

[DFF]

They signed 2 college FA dmen and now draft this guy.

Sound like BT spent some resources on college hockey...will it pay off?

 

[Bounces R Way]

Can't swing for the fences every pick. Would have liked to see at least some offense for a dman picked in the 2nd though. Another long term project.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

They signed 2 college FA dmen and now draft this guy.

Sound like BT spent some resources on college hockey...will it pay off?

We signned Mackey, and who else?
Or are you thinking about those 2 big kids from the Dub?

 

[Kranix]

Can't swing for the fences every pick. Would have liked to see at least some offense for a dman picked in the 2nd though. Another long term project.

I think if I was a gm, I would always swing and take the flashiest dangler no matter what. Never draft a d-man unless he was also a flashy dangler.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

I don’t know why anyone expects draft eligible NCAA players to produce big numbers. It almost never happens

 

[User1996]

We signned Mackey, and who else?
Or are you thinking about those 2 big kids from the Dub?

Poolman

 

[DFF]

We signned Mackey, and who else?
Or are you thinking about those 2 big kids from the Dub?

Colton poolman?

 

[Bounces R Way]

I think if I was a gm, I would always swing and take the flashiest dangler no matter what. Never draft a d-man unless he was also a flashy dangler.

I would only draft guys with good nickname potential

 

[Fig]

We've had a lot of flashy 2nd round picks over the years and the more I read about this, the more it seems like this is an overly safe pick for our standards

The more I look into him, I actually think he's a super wild card that was overlooked due to other attributes.


I've been reading a ton of stuff and there's random tidbits here and there that stick out like a sore thumb to me that most others would probably miss.

While lots of information seems to kinda point at a garden variety 5-6 defensive dman upside, I actually see a wild card. Some of the scouting report says that his regular skating is pedestrian, but one said he backwards skating was better than his forward skating.

The meh aspect of this player seems purely due to glancing at the stats. If you tie in some of the other pertinent information, he actually gets a bit more exciting.

His point totals are pointing at a defensive defenseman especially at the NCAA, but when you poke around at a few things, he actually explodes in production from the USHL (0.12 PPG) to NCAA (0.33 PPG). Not to mention, he's like one of the youngest individuals in a long fricken time to play in the NCAA. 0.33 PPG is kinda meh on paper, but you have to consider that he's treading water in a serious uphill battle he was 17 years old basically the entire time he was in the NCAA. He's tied for 6th in total points for dmen below the age of 18 in the NCAA on a supposedly low scoring team (second in team points supposedly?). It's not a ton of offense, but it's actually offensive progression.

Take for instance a player like Philippe Myers. When he was 17, he was scoring at a 0.09 PPG rate in the QMJHL and 0.13 at the age of 18. At 19 he was scoring at a rate of 0.71 PPG in the QMJHL. Kuznetsov is younger and playing in a more difficult league.

It's not out of the realm of possibility that he continues to improve his current skills, and then even develops additional offensive skills. Lots of players are said to be raw. Kuznetsov IMO is a truly raw prospect who potentially could explode. A phrase I stumbled upon was, "Momentum of development". Kuznetsov's stats are pedestrian and kinda meh. But pair it up with age, circumstances, trends etc. he could turn out to have something extra. The offense might not come, but if somehow it does, wow.

He's a good one to take slow and see if he has an extra gear. I wasn't sure what to think at first, but I actually quite like him after digging a little deeper.

 

[Kahvi]

I would only draft guys with good nickname potential

Like Daemon Hunt?