Prospect Info: #132 D Yegor Rykov

[NJDevs26]

Corey Pronman ‏@coreypronman 31s32 seconds ago
Devils take Yegor Rykov. A re entry defenseman I'm a fan of. He was one of Russia's best defenseman at the WJC. Well rounded player.

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[R8Devs]

6'2" he'll be playing with kovalchuk if he makes the KHL lol

 

[Balance]

Finally we take a Russian player in the draft. How many years of them being the best team in the WJC and scouts do not take these great players because of the "Russian factor".

Poor drafting of Russian players causes things like Panarin to just get overlooked. You could pick up players better than 1st rounders in the 6th round if you strictly draft Russian.

 

[Comparison Ford]

I remember seeing him play at the WJC. Love this pick.

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[R8Devs]

 

[StevenToddIves]

Another excellent pick.

Everything about this kid screams NHL. Size, skates, skills, heavy shot, hockey IQ -- they are all very good. Nothing about his game jumps out at you as amazing, but he has a very high floor. I expect him to be a solid mid-pairing defenseman, a steady blueline presence in any situation.

A very, very good pick in the 5th round. Nothing not to like here.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Big kid. 6'2" 203 pounds.

 

[Belizarius]

Great pick, he was terrific during WJC.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

High risk pick but if his name was Jason Smith he would be a 2nd/3rd rounder no doubt.

 

[Captain Lou]

High risk pick but if his name was Jason Smith he would be a 2nd/3rd rounder no doubt.

That's exactly what we should be doing in the 5th round.

 

[R8Devs]

after Santini, Rykov is probably the best defense prospect we have. Not saying much because the other guys are White, Mozik, and Jacobs.

Hopefully he'll come over when his contract ends in 2019.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

He is better than Santini now. He is playing in a better league on a better team and has better skills than Santini.

 

[R8Devs]

Yea his offensive abilities seems to be miles ahead of Santini and making SKA as a 19 year old even as a bottom pair defenseman is crazy impressive.

 

[Devils Dominion]

When is the earliest he can be a Devil, 2019-2020?

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Yea his offensive abilities seems to be miles ahead of Santini and making SKA as a 19 year old even as a bottom pair defenseman is crazy impressive.

They have to carry a certain number of U20 players but he still has to earn his playing time

 

[VoidCreature]

When is the earliest he can be a Devil, 2019-2020?

Contracts in Russia are weird. It might be possible we can see him before that.

 

[Zippy316]

When is the earliest he can be a Devil, 2019-2020?

Unless he has an out clause, then technically yes.

Kid looks like a pro already though. Would love to be able to slide an NHL ready LD into the top six in three years.

 

[Belizarius]

I love his skating. So smooth. Moves the puck really well, calm, confident.
Awesome pick.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

Dimitri Orlov seems to be his closest comparison when you take into consideration KHL and WJC numbers.

Draft +2 seasons:

Orlov - 13 points in 45 games, -18 on a bottom team in the KHL.
- 9 points in 7 games, +10 on a gold medal Russia team at WJC

Rykov - 5 points in 33 games, +10 on the top team outside of the NHL
- 6 points in 3 games, +4 on this years Russian WJC team.

One thing is for certain, the only thing that I can see holding him back from putting up huge points in the NHL would be lack of a 98 MPH+ slap shot/one timer. At 6`2 216 pounds that shouldn't be overly difficult to develop with proper training.

 

[Devils Dominion]

A nice prospect but he's so far out to being NHL eligible. That tempers my excitement for him.

 

[Zippy316]

A nice prospect but he's so far out to being NHL eligible. That tempers my excitement for him.

Exciting part for me is the timeline.

We have Severson/Santini who in three years should be at the peak of their games on the right side. On the left side, there is nothing. Greene will be long gone, Moore will hopefully be long gone, and Merrill will be little more than a #5, if anything. Depending on who Shero adds to the defense this off-season, let's say he gets us a Brodin or similar LD via trade.

Brodin - Severson
xxxxx - Santini

Will likely be our top four in a few years barring an additional signing/trade/draft pick (Liljegren?). Regardless, we'd be in an awesome position to slide Rykov into the left side where we are weak in the prospect pool. Would also tie in with when this team should start to compete again.

 

[The Wumpus]

I don't mind that Rykov won't come over for a few years. It's essentially no different from slow-cooking him in Albany. He should be much closer to a finished product when he comes over.

So far, looking like a genuine steal of a pick.

 

[Icejoker]

If you look at the play today he is much better than Joulevi.

 

[MichaelJ]

I don't mind that Rykov won't come over for a few years. It's essentially no different from slow-cooking him in Albany. He should be much closer to a finished product when he comes over.

So far, looking like a genuine steal of a pick.

He should be able to hit the ground running when he arrives