Gotta disagree with this. He was second at the 2013 WJC18 in points after McDavid, he was playing with the Russian U20 team his draft year, something very few do, as I'm sure you know. He was playing really well for that team, he won forward of the tournament at one of the warm up tournaments, but then Bragin got a KHL job, and a new coach came in who didn't want him on the team. Bragin compared him to Malkin even prior to his draft.
One of only 13 players to play 10 or more KHL games in their pre-draft season, 3 of those players were later birthdays, and he was one of only 4 of those 13 to be a non-later birthday and play in the playoffs, so he was younger in his draft season than a lot of these guys, and was not playing for a bad team that was just throwing kids out there for no reason, he had to earn his ice time. He also had the second highest # of points and PPG average in the MHL in his age 16 season after Kucherov, ahead of numerous players who went in the first round. Also, like with Kaprizov, I don't think these guys improve so much in the span of two months to be able to have such good 18 year old seasons, I think they were just under-scouted and drafted.
Here are some opinions from draft experts.
He had him ranked 17th.
http://www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1529
Pavel Buchnevich -- New York Rangers -- 75th overall
The Rangers didn't have any picks until the third round, but may have had the good fortune of the Russian Factor causing Pavel Buchnevich to tumble. He has first-round skills and could turn out to be a highly productive goal scorer if he reaches his full potential. Seeing as the Rangers didn't have a chance to select in the first round, Buchnevich affords the team a first-round caliber player at a range far below what his skills suggest. If the Rangers can lure him away from the KHL at some point, he could go down as one of the steals of this draft.
NHL Draft: Biggest steals in 2013
Here are some highlights from his draft year.