Prospect Info: Pavel Karnaukhov (5th round 2015, 136th overall)

[Ace Rimmer]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=98837

Seems like he did well on the Hitmen this season, buried behind a few better players.

From draftsite:

Russian import whose big frame and athleticism make him a patient puck carrier at high speed and is strong on the puck. Receives passes even when outstretching his long stick, and can set up shop in front and get those greasy goals. May project as a strong power player down the road.

Click to read more...

 

[Wayne Primeau]

Yeah! We got Karnaukhov!

I'd wanted to get him - he was pretty sick with the Hitmen.

 

[Sean Monahan]

rookie import on a deep hitmen team and he still scored 20 goals

 

[MC Ride]

Oh man he has the most classic Slav accent ever I love it.

 

[R S]

My thoughts on him:

http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html

#22 Pavel Karnaukhov

Team: Calgary Hitmen
Position: LW/C
Shoots: L
Height: 6’2.5
Weight: 194
GP: 69
Goals: 20
Assists: 22
Points: 42
Pts/Gm: 0.60
PIM: 51

Player Analysis: Pavel Karnaukhov is a long and raw Russian forward for the Calgary Hitmen…possesses a skating stride that has shown marked improvement throughout his rookie WHL season but still lacks an explosive next gear…displays strong edge work with decent but not outstanding footwork overall…footwork is a bit clumsy when he is in tight spaces…crosses over well, giving him an added boost of speed and mobility…could add more speed to his game if he lengthened out his stride a bit further in open ice…has good hands, showing the ability to both give and receive a pass…has shown the ability to handle the puck in tighter areas but could stand to be a bit stronger on his stick both during handling and during attempted shots…has shown a small tendency to over handle the puck at times, trying to do too much within the play…has shown the ability to patrol the slot before crashing the net right as linemates get the puck to the net…has a strong ability to read the upcoming play offensively…could stand to be a bit more aggressive in his offensive positioning and reads, though…displays a very mature understanding of defensive positioning, even when the puck is in the offensive zone…his length and smarts give him a nice leg up on the defensive side of the puck…

is not afraid to play physical and will finish checks when necessary…with that being said, his overall compete and general “difficulty to play against” is rather inconsistent and could be upped a couple of notches…while not being a pure offensive guy or complete shutdown guy I think he offers strong value as a two-way prospect...has shown the ability to play both the wing and centre but has looked far more comfortable down the middle during my viewings…was moved around the Hitmen’s top 9 forward group with much regularity, likely classifying him as a 3rd line player overall…was also used regularly on the powerplay…had a stark drop-off in his offensive production when comparing the first half of the season to the second…had 0.73 PPG up until December 31st but only produced 15 points in his final 32 regular season games (0.47 PPG), good for a 35% decline…was that due to fatigue or a lack of drive?...luckily for him he seemed to increase his intensity come the postseason and it translated on the scoresheet with 11 points in 17 playoff games, a mark higher than his regular season points-per-game totals...his 20 goals during the regular season were good for T-8th among all first-year draft-eligible WHL forwards…was a 1st round selection, 56th overall, by the Calgary Hitmen at the 2014 CHL Import Draft…overall I like a lot of the tools Karnaukhov brought to the table this season…he has all the tools to be an extremely good NHL prospect, but unfortunately he just often left me wanting more on a regular basis…he would show flashes in every game I saw him, but the consistent push just wasn’t always there from him…ultimately his potential and skillset earn him a decent spot on this list as his upside is extremely high, being that of a legit top 9 NHL player if his development goes very good…I expect we’ll see him come off the board somewhere in the 4th or 5th round range come the 2015 NHL Draft and I would rate him in about that spot, too…

 

[Volica]

Love this pick.
In these later picks, take projects.

 

[Urbanskog]

The guy is Belarusian.

 

[Calculon]

[nhl]831251[/nhl]

 

[Anglesmith]

Who are the most notable Belarussian players in terms of recent NHL history?

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Who are the most notable Belarussian players in terms of recent NHL history?

Kotsitsyn brothers
Ruslan Salei
Mikhail Grabovski


...you know it is off-season when these discussions take place.

 

[Lunatik]

Kotsitsyn brothers
Ruslan Salei
Mikhail Grabovski

No Oleg Yevenko?

 

[Ace Rimmer]

No Oleg Yevenko?

Being neither notable or an NHL player, I decided to skip him.

He is a large slab of beef though.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I like this pick, but honestly I don't have super high hopes for him. He's got a long way to go, but he's going to get a lot assistance from the Flames in his development so he does have a huge advantage there. What I like most is that we don't have a ton of players like him, so he really fills a hole there.

 

[Lunatik]

I like this pick, but honestly I don't have super high hopes for him. He's got a long way to go, but he's going to get a lot assistance from the Flames in his development so he does have a huge advantage there. What I like most is that we don't have a ton of players like him, so he really fills a hole there.

I will admit that in that clip Calc posted I liked that he dropped the mitts. Caused me to look him up on hockeyfights.com and was disappointed to see that was his only fight

 

[Volica]

[MOD] Watched this kid play a lot this year, I attend a lot of Hitmen games. This is a project, but you cannot teach size and skill; I expect him to be a monster this next season, and a great one for the Flames to have taken on. I feel there have been some late round good'ers of late, Adam Ollas-Mattsson might have been one of my favorite picks last year. Calgary's doing this the right way:
A) God given natural ability, take it even if the player is undersized or has negative features.
B) God given size, take it even if the player has shown limited ability so far.

It's really the right way of going about things.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Guys, enough is enough. No more talk about countries or ethnicity unless it directly relates to the player. Further talk will result in an infraction.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

Future Consideration's writeup on him was posted on Flames.com and it's really exciting:

Karnaukhov has the size, an offensive tool kit and two-way hockey sense to succeed. He is not a burner by any means. While there doesn’t appear to be any flaws in his stride, he looks a tad sluggish. Offensively, it doesn’t seem to hinder him much as he seems more comfortable playing off the puck anyway. He has very good hockey sense. He surveys the ice very well and always has his head up. He shows patience with the puck and finds teammates effectively. The behind the back pass seems to be a favourite of his and he executes it and other skilled passes well. His high level awareness makes it difficult to lock him down. His positional play in both the offensive and defensive zone is a major asset. With the puck, he has quick hands and solid control. He uses his size and puck skills to protect the puck effectively. He is well rounded offensively in addition to being a solid puck mover. He also has a goal scoring knack. We wouldn’t call him a punishing player; however, he battles hard and is willing to go to tough areas. He is a committed defender. He skates as hard on the back check as he does on attack and his positioning, once in the zone, is very polished. He is very well rounded and his hockey IQ will take him a long way. If he can continue to prove he’s willing to work, his skating should improve.

http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=772994

 

[Lunatik]

Janko, when the Hitmen are in Lethbridge we should check this prospect out, see how he is live.

 

[Bosnian Beast]

As long as it doesn't conflict with papers/exams, I should be golden.

 

[Lunatik]

As long as it doesn't conflict with papers/exams, I should be golden.

definitely, edumacation comes first

 

[Bosnian Beast]

I'm going into my last year before finishing my undergrad, so I am not 100% sure how screwed I will be for time but we can find out.

 

[Calculon]

 

[joeyabs]

that sucks. I like karny, but he did have a dissapointing year. hopefully Hitmen can get a decent import to replace him tomorrow.