Who's impressed you? (Russia/CHL Challenge)

What nondrafted players have impressed you so far?

My picks go to Alexander Plyuschev and Dimitry Megalinsky.

Plyuschev was a relatively known player prior to the 2004 draft, but he went undrafted. He looks bigger than the 6'0, 180 he's listed at and is a good skater. His playmaking looks great as well as his speed and he's got some skill.

I hope the Leafs look around for similar players in the next draft.

Megalinsky's outplayed Lyamin, Mikhailishin, and the other defensemen I think. His size is impressive as well as his physical game. Not that the Leafs need another defenseman in the system, but I think he's a decent prospect.

 

Jordan Smith - he looked very solid and had a few big hits, is very good defensively. He really impressed me!!

Nathan McIver - He looked great out there aswell, plays a very solid game, has good size, is very good skater and has a good first pass coming out of the zone.

Brad Richardson - He really impressed me a lot, doesn't take a shift gives 100% every time he is on the ice, and plays with a edge, he looked great out there.

Benoit Pouliot - One of my favorite propects for the upcoming draft, he also looked good.

David Shantz - he looked great, his positioning is great, his stle is very good, I think he was a great pick up by the Panthers, I really wanted the Leafs to select him.

 

for the russians, the same two you listed leafaholix, i really have liked megalinsky, he's performed very well at both ends of the ice imo, likely working his way onto that grand forks roster

as for canada, well, ohl as i missed huge chunks of both qmjhl games, but for ohl..

jordan smith - reminds me of a carbon copy of jason smith, looks the same, plays the same, and is just a rock, i think i'm actually envying one of anaheim's prospects that isn't a hyped one

brad richardson both games has been awesome, very nice to see a colorado prospect playing well, with our system being so thinned out, dry etc.. you know the cliches

cory blundon (sp?) - i love this guy, kamikaze out there, killing penalties, skating hard, throwing huge hits, digging hard.. love watching him on the ice

david bolland - my new favorite player in the ohl, need i say more, love the work ethic and the tenacity, awesome skating too

dylan hunter - has flashed some skills, while also being very chippy and involved physically, i'm loving watching him play

w. wolski - now this guy has vision, some of the passes he's made, especially backhands off the boards have been sick, sees the ice incredibly well, kills penalties as well. watching him, he's one of those players that seemingly isn't doing anything, however will all of a sudden break up a play, set up an amazing rush, or finish a play.. he'll fit in nicely with the avs

 

Alexander Radulov.
Alex Bourret.
Maxime Boisclair.

 

I think that Leafaholix is asking our opinions on which undrafted players impressed us....

My picks are:
Dimitry Megalinsky
Sergei Shirokov
Alexander Plyuschev
Sergei Kotchetkov
Benoit Pouliot
Ryan Parent

 

On the Russian side:

Megalinsky: just about everybody agrees he has been the best D for the Russian side, and is involved in all areas of the game.

Shirokov: he's a hotdogging guy who really seems to have an attitude, which would probably get him killed in North America because of his size, but he also has great puck skills.

Others have shown flashes, including Koptayev, Lemtyugov, Stepanov, and Kochetkov up front. On defense, Sysa has shown some skill, some of the others... well... let's say that if Mikhailishin can be drafted as a "project", then Batyrshin and his friends could be too, I guess. I don't think any of these guys have been consistent enough that if you did draft them they'd be anything but late round wildcards in your system, though. But they can keep up the pace against all-star teams from the CHL.

 

On the Canadian side:

Bourret: You hear the stories, but he made all the hype coming from the Q fans into gospel.

Bourdon: He does everything, even his physical play, with pro smoothness and efficiency.

Blunden: As a hard-working up and down winger who finishes every check, he looks like a real pro-style prospect.

Pouliot: Like Bourret, he's one of the rare cases of a player actually living up to what seemed like excessive junior hype. Now I can accept seeing a guy come from nowhere and land on top the OHL rankings. He is worthy.

Little and Parent: I've actually seen them several times before, so I can't say they exactly surprised me or impressed me beyond what I had already thought of them, but I also like these guys a lot. Ditto Syvret, who deserves kind of a Josh Gorges offer or late round flyer from some team after the season he's having.

 

I must say that for the OHL squad Brad Richardson really showed what he's made of. I thought he really turned it on in that series. His performance was a surprise, as compared to Stewart and Richards, for example, who were already known to be good players.

Bolland was also playing quite well.

One poster mentioned Wolski as impressive during the series, whereas I thought he really struggled. I seem to remember quite a few shots he fanned on.

 

SYVRET best undrafter surprise

Last year Syvret was very good defensively for the Knights but Wideman played all the offence. When they named him captain this year I was really surprised. Since the begining of the year I stand corrected. He has been our best defensemen at both ends or the ice ... easy... even after picking up Rodney( second in ohl scorring for D-men last yr.) That being said I thought he wouldn't be in the running for a D-man spot at the WJC. He was one of the best in the two games against russia and the coaching staff really liked him too. They played him in every situation even in his fifth game in five days.

Wow, Danny good job!

 

yes, he did fan on a few shots, but i wouldn't say he struggled. mainly what he impressed me with is his vision and playmaking abilities, as well as the way he could come out of nowhere to have a major affect on the play

i agree he missed some chances though, but who didn't

 

Nathan McIver- I thought he was solid defensively, and had a great first pass. Not much of a risk taker. Hopefully he can put everything together and take the Canuck drafting history up a bit.

Voloshenko- I knew this kid had the talent, and the knock on his skating really makes the scouts look stupid now. He has pretty good speed, and considering where he got picked it wouldn't be a big deal if he turned out to be a bust.

 

yes, voloshenko was very impressive as well, just firing it from all spots. great shot and very strong i agree. minnesota looks like they have a solid pick in this guy

 

Thinking about it maybe sturggled wasn't the best way to put it after all. In my eyes, he just didn't look as good in comparison to the others. Mind you this is hard to do when playing on an All-Star team such as this.

 

haha no doubt. i definitely agree he didn't look as good as some of the others.. yeah it is tough to stand out on a team like that