Player Discussion: Mikhail Sergachev

[The Gongshow]

Stralman is such a good defensive Dman. When he first came here, he was a bit more two-way. Now he's turned into Marc-Edward Vlasic.

Still shows flashes of that offence every now and again. Guys a stud.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Stralman really does need some praise. He's such a perfect pairing partner that can allow his team mate to take some risks because he'll have them covered. He was/is excellent with Hedman for the same reason.

Stralman is easily our best FA signing in a long time

Yup. That's why Cooper has said in the past that Strålman will never win the Norris, but his partner probably will.

Still shows flashes of that offence every now and again. Guys a stud.

Yup. Actually has 1 more goal and only 1 less assist at 5v5 than Heddy.

Last year's low points for Stråls was an aberration due to injury, but he will probably never get the 30+ points again like his first two seasons with us since he's not on the PP anymore. But he'd also be the first one to put the team before his own individual achievements and be supportive of Sergachev.

Sergachev has been really good on the PP! The kid is such an amazing talent that I hope they do take their time with him. What he's doing at his age, even being sheltered, is incredible!! His shot and offensive IQ is off the charts. But, as others have said, having Strålman's stability and defensive IQ as partner gives him the opportunity to fly. Strålman has said he can learn from Sergy's offensive skills and Sergachev has said more than once that he is learning a ton about playing defense from Stråls. Perfect pairing indeed.

I must admit that I was one of the ones who was NOT happy with the trade originally. Not so much losing Drouin as thinking that Sergachev, as a junior prospect, would take years to pay off for us. My bad.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

Regardless of the sheltering, Sergachev possesses amazing advanced stats on his own and given more minutes, he would've made more mistakes but his point production would also be bombastic, to the point of being a Calder trophy candidate IMO. I'm perfectly fine with the way they managed his minutes tho, Calder trophy be damned.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

Sheltered or not anyone can see Sergachev has the potential to be a superstar and has shown some very very good Hockey IQ.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Sick goal by "the youngster Gerga...uh Sergachev" against Winnipeg!

 

[The Macho King]

Sheltered or not anyone can see Sergachev has the potential to be a superstar and has shown some very very good Hockey IQ.

People say sheltered like it's a bad thing. We're putting him in the best position to succeed, so he can focus on the day-to-day aspects of being a Dman without getting overwhelmed. He'll probably start playing on the PK starting next season.

I've been trying to think of comparables for the kid of players. His toolset is pretty nuts. I'm more comfortable with him with the puck on the blue line than anyone else on the team - you can tell wingers think they can pressure him into making a mistake and he just steps around them. It's almost... I don't know - Subban without the spinorama?

 

[RegularSznAllStars]

Stralman is such a good defensive Dman. When he first came here, he was a bit more two-way. Now he's turned into Marc-Edward Vlasic.

If any of our dmen had the potential to be a forward in their career, I would think it would be stralman. He will pull some subtle dangles on occasion that are just so slick. He definitely could be more offensive if given the proper situation. However, he is so dman good defensively, he is always going to default to the defensive defenseman role.

 

[Sky04]

People say sheltered like it's a bad thing. We're putting him in the best position to succeed, so he can focus on the day-to-day aspects of being a Dman without getting overwhelmed. He'll probably start playing on the PK starting next season.

I've been trying to think of comparables for the kid of players. His toolset is pretty nuts. I'm more comfortable with him with the puck on the blue line than anyone else on the team - you can tell wingers think they can pressure him into making a mistake and he just steps around them. It's almost... I don't know - Subban without the spinorama?

The way he uses his edges and his body to shield the puck to the point where he looks like he's about to tip over is very Subban-esque... as long as he keeps the spinoramas out I'm fine with a Subban comparison, he's actually a player we could use without the cost, definitely a player and skillset MTL misses Can't believe they traded 2 away in a year.

 

[The Macho King]

The way he uses his edges and his body to shield the puck to the point where he looks like he's about to tip over is very Subban-esque... as long as he keeps the spinoramas out I'm fine with a Subban comparison, he's actually a player we could use without the cost, definitely a player and skillset MTL misses Can't believe they traded 2 away in a year.

He's also faster than Subban, but yeah I can't think of anyone else that he reminds me of.

I haven't watched much Nashville since the trade - I wonder if Subban still does those.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Serge doesn't remind me of Subban... maybe OEL?

 

[The Gongshow]

He's also faster than Subban, but yeah I can't think of anyone else that he reminds me of.

I haven't watched much Nashville since the trade - I wonder if Subban still does those.

That's one thing I'm not overly impressed with. Serg, imo, doesn't have a whole lot of speed. He's not slow by any means but he's definitely not our fastest D-man. It's still Hedman by far.

 

[The Macho King]

That's one thing I'm not overly impressed with. Serg, imo, doesn't have a whole lot of speed. He's not slow by any means but he's definitely not our fastest D-man. It's still Hedman by far.

I don't know about top end speed (how often do Dmen skate at full speed anyway unless you're Hedman and want to be the first guy in the zone and also the first guy back on D), but if you notice him skate the puck out against a forechecker, you can see that he's at high speed in about two to three quick strides and can create separation. He just has a lazy stride, so you don't notice it as much. (insert Rory Fitzpatrick "effortless" ad)

 

[Shoresy Snipes]

I don't know about top end speed (how often do Dmen skate at full speed anyway unless you're Hedman and want to be the first guy in the zone and also the first guy back on D), but if you notice him skate the puck out against a forechecker, you can see that he's at high speed in about two to three quick strides and can create separation. He just has a lazy stride, so you don't notice it as much. (insert Rory Fitzpatrick "effortless" ad)

I think that is pretty spot on. Like others have said, he's certainly not slow, but every now and then, maybe when he gets a bit nervous or thinks he has to correct a mistake, it seems like he has an extra gear, like an overdrive, but he doesn't go all out all of the time with it (smart). Every now an then he gets a jump and its like "dayummm, where did that come from Serg!" (opponent not expecting it either)

 

[DaBolts]

I don't know about his future, it is too early to tell, but right now, there are a LOT of pissed off Montreal fans wondering why they traded for our former head case and sent what appears to be Hedman v2.0 to us.

 

[DFC]

As mentioned, something about Serg's stride creates the optical illusion that he's not fast, which makes it a surprise when he turns out to be fast enough to create separation, or catch up to his man. I think it was just the last game where he got caught on a pinch and had to cross the ice to catch up to his man, which he did.

 

[Stamper]

I don't think Sergachev will ever be as talented scater as Hedman, but that ain't to slight to him since Hedman is easily one of the most physically gifted Dmen to ever play the game.

But offensively, especially due to his shot arsenal and offensive creativity, Sergachev already has Hedman beat, imo.

 

[These Are The Days]

I don't think Sergachev will ever be as talented scater as Hedman, but that ain't to slight to him since Hedman is easily one of the most physically gifted Dmen to ever play the game.

But offensively, especially due to his shot arsenal and offensive creativity, Sergachev already has Hedman beat, imo.

I don't know about "to ever play the game" but I gotta give Hedman credit as being the smoothest skating big man I've ever watched. I just wish his shooting accuracy wasn't so poor. He could easily score 20 goals a year but I honest to God cannot estimate the amount of shot attempts he would need because for every 25 shots, 20 go wide, 1 goes in and the other 4 (to his credit) lead to great chances for his teammates.

As for Sergachev he's just unreal. 19 years old and he already shows brief little flashes of being able to completely take over a game. That's just.... that's not normal. To think of where he might be in 5 years is both as exciting as it is unpredictable. There's no telling just how good he's going to be. I imagine his peak is going to be somewhere around Dan Boyle

 

[waterboy65]

Boyle is a good offensive comparison but Serg is far ahead of where DB was defensively. I cringed fairly often when DB had to make a defensive play! Too his credit, he got much better on the defensive end especially after he went to San Jose. Serg with combination of his size, skill, and skating ability has very few comparables. This could turn out to be one of the great trades in hockey history and that's not because Drouin will bust but because Serg can really be that good!

 

[Sky04]

Boyle is a good offensive comparison but Serg is far ahead of where DB was defensively. I cringed fairly often when DB had to make a defensive play! Too his credit, he got much better on the defensive end especially after he went to San Jose. Serg with combination of his size, skill, and skating ability has very few comparables. This could turn out to be one of the great trades in hockey history and that's not because Drouin will bust but because Serg can really be that good!

Let's not be stupid, Drouin won't even come close to busting. He's on Pace for 56 points playing 1st line center for an inept offense, at worse he stays a 55-60 pt forward. When they inevitably move him back to wing he'll perform even better. They still get a first line player in return just not the center they wanted.

 

[Sky04]

I don't know about "to ever play the game" but I gotta give Hedman credit as being the smoothest skating big man I've ever watched. I just wish his shooting accuracy wasn't so poor. He could easily score 20 goals a year but I honest to God cannot estimate the amount of shot attempts he would need because for every 25 shots, 20 go wide, 1 goes in and the other 4 (to his credit) lead to great chances for his teammates.

As for Sergachev he's just unreal. 19 years old and he already shows brief little flashes of being able to completely take over a game. That's just.... that's not normal. To think of where he might be in 5 years is both as exciting as it is unpredictable. There's no telling just how good he's going to be. I imagine his peak is going to be somewhere around Dan Boyle

Not sure what you see but he hasn't come close to taking over a game, putting up points on the scoreboard doesn't equate to that. He's hasn't had a single game where he's controlled the full Pace of the game that elite defenseman are capable of, he hasn't even played a game as well as McAvoy did against us a couple games ago. Let's say off the hyperboles.

 

[Stamper]

I don't know about "to ever play the game" but I gotta give Hedman credit as being the smoothest skating big man I've ever watched. I just wish his shooting accuracy wasn't so poor. He could easily score 20 goals a year but I honest to God cannot estimate the amount of shot attempts he would need because for every 25 shots, 20 go wide, 1 goes in and the other 4 (to his credit) lead to great chances for his teammates.

As for Sergachev he's just unreal. 19 years old and he already shows brief little flashes of being able to completely take over a game. That's just.... that's not normal. To think of where he might be in 5 years is both as exciting as it is unpredictable. There's no telling just how good he's going to be. I imagine his peak is going to be somewhere around Dan Boyle

Well, I can't remember that many 6'6, 220 lbs Dmen that can skate like him, hence the 'physically gifted' part.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

Let's not be stupid, Drouin won't even come close to busting. He's on Pace for 56 points playing 1st line center for an inept offense, at worse he stays a 55-60 pt forward. When they inevitably move him back to wing he'll perform even better. They still get a first line player in return just not the center they wanted.

I'm not here to shit on Jo but I consider your statement to be partially true. Despite a flamboyant offensive skillset, Drouin's un-ajustable PP specialist that brings nothing noticeable defensively : He's a one dimensional winger.

And once again he fails to produce at 5v5, he's on pace for another below 30 EV points season when Kucherov already has 24 of them. Montreal's failing to deliver, sadly as its #1 center and main offensive threat, his advanced stats remain below the team average. So, his lack of versatility could be viewed as a detriment to his team. So maybe he's going to reach another gear once he goes back to his most suited position, who knows. Still at the moment, he changed team but nothing changed.

 

[These Are The Days]

Not sure what you see but he hasn't come close to taking over a game, putting up points on the scoreboard doesn't equate to that. He's hasn't had a single game where he's controlled the full Pace of the game that elite defenseman are capable of, he hasn't even played a game as well as McAvoy did against us a couple games ago. Let's say off the hyperboles.

Well of course he hasn't. That's why I said "brief little flashes" We cannot speak to an entire game. But what we can do is speak to the several second intervals of individual effort we've seen him that have led to great goals, great assists, saving the play at the blue on a power play or just anything he's done that made us say "holy crap." There's no point in reviewing each great play he's made. We've all seen it and marveled. We speak to those moments where he willed a play to happen and we just watch him learn to do more from there.

Kid still has a long way to go but he's coming along nicely.

 

[Sky04]

I'm not here to **** on Jo but I consider your statement to be partially true. Despite a flamboyant offensive skillset, Drouin's un-ajustable PP specialist that brings nothing noticeable defensively : He's a one dimensional winger.

And once again he fails to produce at 5v5, he's on pace for another below 30 EV points season when Kucherov already has 24 of them. Montreal's failing to deliver, sadly as its #1 center and main offensive threat, his advanced stats remain below the team average. So, his lack of versatility could be viewed as a detriment to his team. So maybe he's going to reach another gear once he goes back to his most suited position, who knows. Still at the moment, he changed team but nothing changed.

He's a 22 year old first line player with upside, like I said at worse he's performing as a 55~ point player which is far from a bust or tip this trade in historic scale. It was a bad trade from a positional standpoint and getting worse with hindsight, but nowhere near trades such as Conacher for Bishop (which still isn't near the top in terms of bad trades).

 

[These Are The Days]

Well, I can't remember that many 6'6, 220 lbs Dmen that can skate like him, hence the 'physically gifted' part.

Oh man. You want to see a truly great skating big man? Check out Andrej Sustr. It's incredible to behold....