Prospect Info: 2020 1st Rd Selection - #15 OA - LW Rodion Amirov (RUS) - 6'0", 177lbs

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

To be fair, even Rindell didn't play in his 1st game returning. Might just be too get them rest, but I do agree Amirov will be back to 4th line 13th forward duty for some reason.

that was a little bit earlier for Rindell though. Mukhamadullin is playing for Ufa, and Podkolzin was promoted to the top line of his KHL team for today's game

 

[kk87]

I wonder if KHL teams feel a little bit of spite towards young players who appear destined for the NHL... after the way Amirov played in the top 6 before the draft, it seems somewhat ridiculous that a player of his calibre would be relegated to 4th line/13th forward duties.

 

[Iapyi]

Lol so brainless.

How so? Seems to me that the guys making that decision are in a better position to decide the right choice for their team. It's their job. I'm curious if many posters on here have ever seen this kid play?

 

[nobody]

How so? Seems to me that the guys making that decision are in a better position to decide the right choice for their team. It's their job. I'm curious if many posters on here have ever seen this kid play?

I have seen about 10 of his games this season. A couple before the draft and probably 5-6 following. He's got a very good skillset and is a very reliable two way forward. I think his shortcoming is the fact that Ufa has a set top 6 and when they all came back from their Corona quarantine, Amirov got bumped out of the top 6 because of inconsistencies that you'd expect in any youngster. He's a great player on the 3rd line but as far as I had seen their bottom 6 is an offensive blackhole and kind of like soccer teams, they're deployed mostly to kill time and prevent getting scored on. Amirov could still use the minutes down there but I feel like a team feels more obligated to give players that are older who chose to sign with the team that ice time instead of a kid that's still developing.

Since becoming the 13th forward however, his usage has been unique. The coaches know he's got fresh legs and can provide offense and in most games his little bit of ice time mostly comes during crunch time when the teams trying to muster offense often trying to catchup on the scoreboard. I guess that's a flattering thing that the coaches have the confidence in you to put you out there to climb back into the game.

Ideally however, I wish he'd get sent down to the VHL (AHL for the KHL) and get 20+ mins per night on that team. Yeah, it's not the KHL but I think he's going to need that playing time. With the WJC approaching (assuming it is a go), I think Ufa's hands are gonna be forced by the international federation of ice hockey in Russia to play him more. Either he will forcefully make his way into the top 6 role in the KHL or he will be VHL bound and get a ton of playing time. Russian international hockey always does this with their WJC players to make sure they're tuned up to go for the tournament. Post tournament however, majority of these WJC players get buried.

 

[stickty111]

How so? Seems to me that the guys making that decision are in a better position to decide the right choice for their team. It's their job. I'm curious if many posters on here have ever seen this kid play?

Just because someone has more authority, doesn't mean they are always right.

 

[stickty111]

that was a little bit earlier for Rindell though. Mukhamadullin is playing for Ufa, and Podkolzin was promoted to the top line of his KHL team for today's game

It was yesterday's game, but I agree with your point. KHL just works this way and sometimes do the wrong thing which is the case here.

 

[Morgs]

I wonder if KHL teams feel a little bit of spite towards young players who appear destined for the NHL... after the way Amirov played in the top 6 before the draft, it seems somewhat ridiculous that a player of his calibre would be relegated to 4th line/13th forward duties.

Tbf he was playing top-line on a team that was crushed by Covid. Something like 10-13 players were out with Covid for like 7 games.

It doesn't make any sense that he's the 13th forward when there definitely isnt that many guys better than him. Them's the breaks for young players in the KHL unfortunately.

 

[New Liskeard]

Thanks for posting this.

I didn't follow the draft much because I didn't expect us to have a relevant pick all year (and I'm not a draft guru type to begin with). So I knew very little about who Amirov was. The only guy I cared about in our pick range was Askarov (the russian goalie).

I'm more and more happy about the pick as time goes on. I love the philosophy to draft talent, and get your size and grit through other avenues. No reason to spend draft picks on players like Biggs or Gauthier, ever again.

To be fair, looking back at the Gauthier draft the Leafs did very well in selecting him.

 

[IceColdBear]

To be fair, looking back at the Gauthier draft the Leafs did very well in selecting him.

No they didn't, he's a mediocre 4th line C, the type of guy you can sign for under $1 million every year in free agency.

Shea Theodore, or Burakovsky would have been doing very well.

 

[qqaz]

To be fair, looking back at the Gauthier draft the Leafs did very well in selecting him.

It's true. There weren't many great picks that got taken right after him. But a complete bust would have contributed almost as much as Gauthier did. It's almost unbelievable that he's played over 160 games in his career. I don't think he impressed me in even 10 of them.

 

[Iapyi]

I have seen about 10 of his games this season. A couple before the draft and probably 5-6 following. He's got a very good skillset and is a very reliable two way forward. I think his shortcoming is the fact that Ufa has a set top 6 and when they all came back from their Corona quarantine, Amirov got bumped out of the top 6 because of inconsistencies that you'd expect in any youngster. He's a great player on the 3rd line but as far as I had seen their bottom 6 is an offensive blackhole and kind of like soccer teams, they're deployed mostly to kill time and prevent getting scored on. Amirov could still use the minutes down there but I feel like a team feels more obligated to give players that are older who chose to sign with the team that ice time instead of a kid that's still developing.

Since becoming the 13th forward however, his usage has been unique. The coaches know he's got fresh legs and can provide offense and in most games his little bit of ice time mostly comes during crunch time when the teams trying to muster offense often trying to catchup on the scoreboard. I guess that's a flattering thing that the coaches have the confidence in you to put you out there to climb back into the game.

Ideally however, I wish he'd get sent down to the VHL (AHL for the KHL) and get 20+ mins per night on that team. Yeah, it's not the KHL but I think he's going to need that playing time. With the WJC approaching (assuming it is a go), I think Ufa's hands are gonna be forced by the international federation of ice hockey in Russia to play him more. Either he will forcefully make his way into the top 6 role in the KHL or he will be VHL bound and get a ton of playing time. Russian international hockey always does this with their WJC players to make sure they're tuned up to go for the tournament. Post tournament however, majority of these WJC players get buried.

Thanks for the thought out reply. I can't like it because of a bogus infraction.

I don't give two hoots about soccer but I appreciate the comparison.

What I find often happens is that some posters like to talk about things they know absolutely nothing about. While you have at least seen him play a bit I would bet my house there are people saying that he should be playing top 6 even if they've never actually ever seen him play.

 

[New Liskeard]

No they didn't, he's a mediocre 4th line C, the type of guy you can sign for under $1 million every year in free agency.

Shea Theodore, or Burakovsky would have been doing very well.

You do realize there were other players in that draft that didn't become regular NHLers? Take a look at that draft, it was weak and there were several who didn't become NHL regulars. Like him or not, Gauthier is an NHLer.

 

[Iapyi]

Just because someone has more authority, doesn't mean they are always right.

You're preaching to the choir. Would you agree there are often people who talk like they know everything even if they know nothing?

 

[New Liskeard]

It's true. There weren't many great picks that got taken right after him. But a complete bust would have contributed almost as much as Gauthier did. It's almost unbelievable that he's played over 160 games in his career. I don't think he impressed me in even 10 of them.

Whether you like him or not, he carved out an NHL career where several others did not. Ill take a 4th line center over a bust any day, Who wouldn't?

 

[93LEAFS]

You do realize there were other players in that draft that didn't become regular NHLers? Take a look at that draft, it was weak and there were several who didn't become NHL regulars. Like him or not, Gauthier is an NHLer.

In the range, Gauthier was taken (21-25) less than 50% of players become NHLers of actual value (top 9 forwards, top 4 defenders). Obviously, you hope your team will hit more than the average rate of return. You can always point to exceptions. The issue with the Burke/Nonis/Morrison drafts isn't that Gauthier didn't hit, it's that they missed the average return in the 20-60 range dramatically. To not leave with a top 9 forward or a top 4 defender between Biggs, Percy, Gauthier, Finn, Ross, Kenny Ryan, and Blacker is just terrible drafting. Missing on a pick in the 15-30 range is going to happen, even to the best drafting teams, you are dealing with unpredictable 17 and 18 year olds. But, to continually miss on anything that isn't a top 10 pick (Rielly and Kadri) isn't a sustainable way to build a franchise.

 

[93LEAFS]

I feel like if Gauthier was a 2nd round pick and we had a proper development system for him at 18 rather than at like 22, people would not be complaining about him.

High end 3C upside who turned out to be a solid 4th liner is not the worst thing in the world out of a 2nd round pick. Tampa just did that with Jack Finley and he has nowhere near the kind of defensive upside Gauthier has, and is not really that much better offensively I would say.

If you were guaranteed a high-end 3rd line center at 21, you take it every time given the average return of each pick. Granted, no pick in that range is ever guaranteed, hence why they are going in the back half of the first round and not the top 5.

 

[LeafChief]

Edit: Wrong thread.

Also - I love Rodion.

 

[cupcrazyman]

Top prospects who have caught the attention of scouts overseas

Drafted prospects

Rodion Amirov -- Toronto Maple Leafs
If Rodion Amirov was a relative unknown to Maple Leafs fans before the 2020 NHL Draft, they should be familiar with his name by now.
The 15th-overall pick has continued to open eyes this season, putting up six points in 19 games with the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa and he’s fresh off a starring role for Russia at the Karjala Cup. Amirov scored in all three games and helped Russia -- which sent its U20 squad to face pro-laden Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic teams as a tuneup for the world juniors, claim gold. The left-winger was named best forward at the tournament for his performance.
Pechonkin says Amirov’s full complement of skills were on display at the event: He’s deceptive, he has a great hockey IQ, the vision to find open teammates, strong puck skills and a quick wrist shot.
“He has just about everything in his game -- he's a really smart player and his [biggest] weapon is his shot and accuracy. He's a really dangerous player around the net,” he said.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

deally however, I wish he'd get sent down to the VHL (AHL for the KHL) and get 20+ mins per night on that team.

Someone on here mentioned something along the lines that either his team does not own a VHL affiliate to send him to, or that's it's like so far away and in the middle of nowhere that he'd essentially by "exiled" and not reasonably able to come back for road trips or injury replacements or anything like that.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

In the range, Gauthier was taken (21-25) less than 50% of players become NHLers of actual value (top 9 forwards, top 4 defenders). Obviously, you hope your team will hit more than the average rate of return. You can always point to exceptions. The issue with the Burke/Nonis/Morrison drafts isn't that Gauthier didn't hit, it's that they missed the average return in the 20-60 range dramatically. To not leave with a top 9 forward or a top 4 defender between Biggs, Percy, Gauthier, Finn, Ross, Kenny Ryan, and Blacker is just terrible drafting. Missing on a pick in the 15-30 range is going to happen, even to the best drafting teams, you are dealing with unpredictable 17 and 18 year olds. But, to continually miss on anything that isn't a top 10 pick (Rielly and Kadri) isn't a sustainable way to build a franchise.

It's pretty bad to draft a forward in that range that you know has a pretty low offensive ceiling (low skill). He was never expected to have much of an offensive upside from the day he was drafted, and Burke was pretty open about that, IIRC. It's quite obvious they were overly enamoured with his size.

 

[Stephen]

It's pretty bad to draft a forward in that range that you know has a pretty low offensive ceiling (low skill). He was never expected to have much of an offensive upside from the day he was drafted, and Burke was pretty open about that, IIRC. It's quite obvious they were overly enamoured with his size.

In hindsight, it was pretty egregious they missed out on Shea Theodore with that pick. He was a better prospect than Gauthier was right out of the draft.

 

[Stephen]

Top prospects who have caught the attention of scouts overseas

Drafted prospects

Rodion Amirov -- Toronto Maple Leafs
If Rodion Amirov was a relative unknown to Maple Leafs fans before the 2020 NHL Draft, they should be familiar with his name by now.
The 15th-overall pick has continued to open eyes this season, putting up six points in 19 games with the KHL’s Salavat Yulaev Ufa and he’s fresh off a starring role for Russia at the Karjala Cup. Amirov scored in all three games and helped Russia -- which sent its U20 squad to face pro-laden Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic teams as a tuneup for the world juniors, claim gold. The left-winger was named best forward at the tournament for his performance.
Pechonkin says Amirov’s full complement of skills were on display at the event: He’s deceptive, he has a great hockey IQ, the vision to find open teammates, strong puck skills and a quick wrist shot.
“He has just about everything in his game -- he's a really smart player and his [biggest] weapon is his shot and accuracy. He's a really dangerous player around the net,” he said.

Hopefully he really does have a bit of that Kucherov style upside.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

In hindsight, it was pretty egregious they missed out on Shea Theodore with that pick. He was a better prospect than Gauthier was right out of the draft.

For sure, hindsight is 20/20. I don't like to judge scouting ability based on the one-offs they missed in hindsight. But when you draft your 1st round pick and act proud that you got a player that project to be a 3rd line defensive forward, that's just straight up bad imo.

 

[Gallagbi]

It's pretty bad to draft a forward in that range that you know has a pretty low offensive ceiling (low skill). He was never expected to have much of an offensive upside from the day he was drafted, and Burke was pretty open about that, IIRC. It's quite obvious they were overly enamoured with his size.

He certainly didn't have high end potential, but I think his ceiling was a little higher than most remember now.

He was drafted as a 6'5 C who jumped from AAA to major junior at basically a PPG, then jumped to Team Canada quickly after his draft.

His production never improved and really wasn't much better at 20 than he was at 17.

 

[93LEAFS]

It's pretty bad to draft a forward in that range that you know has a pretty low offensive ceiling (low skill). He was never expected to have much of an offensive upside from the day he was drafted, and Burke was pretty open about that, IIRC. It's quite obvious they were overly enamoured with his size.

You don't recall correctly because Burke was gone from the organization the season we took Gauthier.