RW Andrei Svechnikov - Barrie Colts, OHL (2018 Draft)

[DoingItCoolKiwi]

5 points in 5 games. slowly busting?

Give him time. The 2nd half of the season will be the one that should be looked at more seriously

 

[LeafChief]

5 points in 5 games. slowly busting?

PPG as a rookie in a new league hardly seems like "busting".

I'm fairly certain he will break out and be quite dominant soon.

 

[rt]

Rookie imports usually start slow. Look at his season in sets of 20. Each set should be more statistically impressive than the previous set.

Also, look at him relative to his teammates. The only guy with more points is in his third season with the team.

 

[rt]

PPG as a rookie in a new league hardly seems like "busting".

I'm fairly certain he will break out and be quite dominant soon.

He's got an agenda. Don't bother.

 

[Kshahdoo]

As far as I remember his USHL start wasn't skyrocketing as well.

 

[Acallabeth]

True but who wants to play in Russia for their entire career when a better league exists here? Eventually they have to make the jump if they want to play in the best league in the world. it's not like playing in Russia for an extra 4 years prepares them for the change in ice size.

To play in the best league in the world, you need to be the best payer you can possibly be, and the MHL-KHL system has a track record of developing Russian stars that absolutely dwarves the CHL. It's not even comparable, honestly, we have been discussing this phenomenon for years now. Ice size is a relatively minor issue, you don't need to play in NA junior leagues and minors for 4 years to prepare for that, especially as we rarely see truly big ice players among young Russians now.

 

[Laineux]

To play in the best league in the world, you need to be the best payer you can possibly be, and the MHL-KHL system has a track record of developing Russian stars that absolutely dwarves the CHL. It's not even comparable, honestly, we have been discussing this phenomenon for years now. Ice size is a relatively minor issue, you don't need to play in NA junior leagues and minors for 4 years to prepare for that, especially as we rarely see truly big ice players among young Russians now.

It's interesting to think whether top prospects in general, not just Russians, would benefit more from playing professional hockey instead of junior like European prospects tend to do.

Matthews certainly seemed to have benefitted from playing pro before his NHL debut. Regardless of ice surface, playing in a league where you score two points per game doesn't sound like a good development towards being an NHL player at all.

 

[Daximus]

To play in the best league in the world, you need to be the best payer you can possibly be, and the MHL-KHL system has a track record of developing Russian stars that absolutely dwarves the CHL. It's not even comparable, honestly, we have been discussing this phenomenon for years now. Ice size is a relatively minor issue, you don't need to play in NA junior leagues and minors for 4 years to prepare for that, especially as we rarely see truly big ice players among young Russians now.

They should as they have significantly more Russians in their system. They also have a track record of developing Russian's that can't hack it in the NHL and run back to Russia with their tails between their legs.

It's interesting to think whether top prospects in general, not just Russians, would benefit more from playing professional hockey instead of junior like European prospects tend to do.

Matthews certainly seemed to have benefitted from playing pro before his NHL debut. Regardless of ice surface, playing in a league where you score two points per game doesn't sound like a good development towards being an NHL player at all.

They have developed some of the top players of all time in Gretzky, Lemieux, Or, Crosby.. the system obviously works. Just for some reason Euro's have issues adapting to it. Given the competition is overall lower then the leagues they come from they should be dominating but that is rarely the case.

 

[Zine]

It shouldn't be that way though. I refuse to accept that Russians are just completely inept at adapting to the outside world before they hit their early 20's. It makes absolutely no sense. Why would Russians be the black sheep of all the Euros?

Keep in mind that North America and Western Europe are relatively similar, the transition isn't drastic for most kids. Russia, on the other hand, is an entirely different animal.

Think about it this way. How many Canadian kids would stunt their development if they, at the tender age of 15-19, were dropped into the middle of Russia to develop (even if their objective was to play KHL). Yea, it would be a disaster for most of those kids too.

 

[Daximus]

Keep in mind that North America and Western Europe are relatively similar, the transition isn't drastic for most kids. Russia, on the other hand, is an entirely different animal.

Think about it this way. How many Canadian kids would stunt their development if they, at the tender age of 15-19, were dropped into the middle of Russia to develop (even if their objective was to play KHL). Yea, it would be a disaster for most of those kids too.

It's impossible to know really. We've never tried it.

 

[Zine]

It's impossible to know really. We've never tried it.

No, it's not impossible to know.
It should be painfully obvious to any worldly individual that most 15-19 year old Canadians would have big time difficulty in Russia as compared to Western Europe; and I'm not even talking about hockey players. Like I said, it's an entirely different world. With that in mind, and on top of that, hockey players would have the added responsibility of developing their game in such a scenario. It's a recipe for disaster.

It's no wonder most Russians regress in the CHL when compared to their Euro or North American counterparts. And it has nothing to do with the CHL development system, or Russians not being good players, or innately poor at adapting when compared to everyone else.

 

[Daximus]

No, it's not impossible to know.
It should be painfully obvious to any worldly individual that most 15-19 year old Canadians would have big time difficulty in Russia as compared to Western Europe; and I'm not even talking about hockey players. Like I said, it's an entirely different world. With that in mind, and on top of that, hockey players would have the added responsibility of developing their game in such a scenario. It's a recipe for disaster.

It's no wonder most Russians regress in the CHL when compared to their Euro or North American counterparts. And it has nothing to do with the CHL development system, or Russians not being 'good enough', or 'poor adapters'.

Sergachev and Provorov seem to have adjusted fine. Some kids just aren't cut out for moving half way across the world but obviously others have no issues with it.

 

[Zine]

Sergachev and Provorov seem to have adjusted fine. Some kids just aren't cut out for moving half way across the world but obviously others have no issues with it.

Well, Sergachyov hasn't proven anything yet beyond junior.

But I agree, some kids can adapt better than others; however these kids tend to be in the extreme minority. In my opinion, when analyzing the quality of development paths, it's more telling when you look at the overall body of work rather than focus on a few outliers. We have 20+ years of elite Russians going the CHL route and not much to show for it relative to our elite kids who develop at home.

I'm not saying Svechnikov can't fully develop in NA, but, man, it's such an unnecessary risk to take. Here's to hoping he's one of the outliers.

 

[Fantomas]

The jury is out on whether Sergachev has "adjusted fine." He's in his second NHL training camp and has been far from brilliant in either.

 

[cgf]

Must this pollute every thread about Russian prospects in NA? Just start your own thread to gripe about it in.

 

[VoidCreature]

Seems to me Svechnikov played in the States last year, not Russia.

 

[RossiyaSport]

People still don't want to understand that the problem is if a Russian kid leaves around age 17 they haven't mastered the Russian hockey style. They then have to learn the Canadian style at an older age. The end result is they are a flawed player. A player either needs to come over much earlier or later.

Svechnikov is extremely high risk because of this. A team drafting him high is basically taking the big risk that hes the rare guy that is so talented he can overcome this and become an all star level player. His brother clearly has fallen in this trap but few want to admit it because of just wishful thinking.

 

[Daximus]

People still don't want to understand that the problem is if a Russian kid leaves around age 17 they haven't mastered the Russian hockey style. They then have to learn the Canadian style at an older age. The end result is they are a flawed player. A player either needs to come over much earlier or later.

Svechnikov is extremely high risk because of this. A team drafting him high is basically taking the big risk that hes the rare guy that is so talented he can overcome this and become an all star level player. His brother clearly has fallen in this trap but few want to admit it because of just wishful thinking.

I still don't by it. Other Euro's can come over and make the transition fine and it's not like all Russians come over here and play bad. Some actually play really well. It's typically their transition to the NHL that doesn't go so well.

 

[Caser]

Just wanted to remind everyone that this thread has to remain about Svechnikov and not about the good ol' KHL Vs CHL holywar (there is a separate thread for that btw).

 

[93LEAFS]

Rookie imports usually start slow. Look at his season in sets of 20. Each set should be more statistically impressive than the previous set.

Also, look at him relative to his teammates. The only guy with more points is in his third season with the team.

This is actually a bit of a myth that got trumpeted last year with Hischier's slow start and his extremely hot middle of the season, only to slow down again at the end of the year.

I looked at it more in-depth last year (but I can't find the post with the new search engine), but it proved to be a myth, and probably no different than the general distribution among players. For whatever reasons, it's a cliche that has stuck around even with limited supporting statistical evidence, because emotionally it seems like a logical argument ( a person having trouble adjusting to new surroundings).

Not that I'm saying Svechnikov won't explode at some point statistically, just that basing the argument on him being an import has no real barring. Marner, for example, was a slow starter his last 2 years in the OHL. I have no idea if that was due to underlying reasons (getting a feel for game speed, teammates adjusting to his passes etc) or just random variance.

 

[93LEAFS]

Had a pretty good game. Two goals quickly in the first, and an amazing back check to stop a short handed goal. Finishes off the hat trick in the empty net on the PK.

 

[Brucelenok]

LOL at the people who started doubting him... 5 points in the first 5 games and already a bust? Btw he scored a hattrick tonight and was a force on the ice. He is the most talented prospect from Russia since Ovi. He will score 100+ points this season unless there is an injury or something. And CHL vs Russian League, it is all BS. If a player is talented enough and has head on his shoulders, he will find a way to succeed anywhere.

 

[Caser]

 

[ViD]

Not the flashiest of hat tricks, but it should give him a boost of confidence

 

[Daximus]

Not the flashiest of hat tricks, but it should give him a boost of confidence

Doesn't need to be flashy just needs to be effective. Heck of a game.