What former NHL players should I watch for and what prospects should i pay attention to
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SoundAndFury
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- May 28, 2012
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Former NHLers are scarce these days. Datsyuk is in limbo. Has not anounced retirement, but has not agreed to play another season either. The talk about Kovalchuk is just talk.
Voynov though should be ready shortly. He is with Dynamo Moscow now.
Jake Virtanen is rumored to sign with Lokomotiv soon.
The annual can Nail Yakupov finally nail it(at least somewhat) popcorn fest. He might have a notable season with Avangard.
Chekhovich with Torpedo. A puzzling case to me. San Jose released him and I don't know why.
Prospects to watch:
Voronkov, Kovalenko (AkBars)
Gritsyuk, Chistyakov, Miroshnichenko (Avangard) if he gets a lot of KHL time
Nikishin (Spartak)
Mukhamadullin, Amirov (Salavat Yulayev)
Yurov (Metallurg Magnitogorsk)
Rashevskiy (Dynamo Moscow) He's had a great start to the season. 20y.o. unsigned Winnipeg prospect who spent last season in the VHL.
Makarov (CSKA) HUGE 18 year old D-man might get to play in the big league, because he is unusually HUGE(6'4", 235lbs) for his age.
and The Bragin's SKA Prospect Army
G
Askarov
D
Galenyuk
Pylenkov
Kirsanov
F
Marchenko
Khusnutdinov
Morozov
Bardakov
Chibrikov
Svechkov
and of course the one and only Matvei Michkov.
alko
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SoundAndFury
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Few will play every night (Morozov and Marchenko, Khusnutdinov maybe) but I think at least 7 of them will be on the ice most nights. Other than Askrov they are all in competition for a place in the lineup between themselves so if not one the other will play.
Also, Groshev should be added to that list.
That's the point. Most of them will with the obvious excpetions of Askarov who will be the backup with the option to be moved to other leagues to get playing time, 16y.o. Michkov. Svechkov remains to be determined. So far he's got one game and limited minutes.
Marchenko and Morozov are established regulars by now. Khusnutdinov was on the verge last season and judging by his amazing start to this season he is entreched. Chibrikov who despite age was guy I expected to get a lot of KHL action as he's got the most of it last season has played in both games so far. Limited minutes, but just as all the young guys. Bardakov and Svechkov got one game out of two SKA games so far.
Kirsanov and Pylenkov played in both games with decent minutes for young defencemen.
Michkov played in both games and even got time on the top line which is a welcome experiment. Bragin's comments after the Lokomotiv game for him were though that he was not up to speed at times and got seated because of that. Perfectly normal for a 16 year old who under normal circumstances would not be anywhere near KHL. Big league pace is something he will have to adjust to. The limited minutes for him and Svechkov in the Loko game tell me they might give them games off in the future against tougher opposition and bring them in against weaker teams.
Groshev might be the odd man out for SKA. He did not play yet. I dunno. Injured? Or are we expecting a trade?
SoundAndFury
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I doubt it. SKA usually wants to keep those higher-profile prospects to themselves. I think they will find him minutes down the road. He isn't eligible to WJC so he might get the bulk of his minutes whenever the mass exodus to WJC camps leaves. Maybe they will send him to the VHL in the meantime. Or it's also possible that kids like Michkov and Chibrikov are only playing with SKA before the VHL season for SKA-Neva begins.
What I was thinking of is SKA's policy of hoarding then dumping. Just as recently happenned to Stromwall. They often get their 6 lines together before the season then start dumping the players who they think do not fit in.
VHL season though is a good point. Let's see what happens to the youngest.
