Prospect Info: #98 Nikita Popugaev (RW)

[Blender]

Guy had the same number of points in the WHL as Yamamoto and is twice the size.

Anyone know the negatives on this guy?

 

[britdevil]

Guy had the same number of points in the WHL as Yamamoto and is twice the size.

Anyone know the negatives on this guy?

Apparently requested a trade. Labelled with attitude issues and the classic "lazy Russian"

 

[R8Devs]

Guy had the same number of points in the WHL as Yamamoto and is twice the size.

Anyone know the negatives on this guy?

20 goals in his first 27 games or so and then 9 goals in his next 45.

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

Lol at how big he is

 

[glenwo2]

"Big Poppy"

stands 6'6

Damn. Never thought of THAT nickname to use. Nice.

 

[Tundra]

Lol at how big he is

Did you see him clear the D on that breakaway? surprising when you consider how gangly he is.

 

[None Shall Pass]

Whoa, big boy.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Guy had the same number of points in the WHL as Yamamoto and is twice the size.

Anyone know the negatives on this guy?

He's Russian and didn't score a lot the second half of the season, so that means he's lazy.

There's huge sleeper potential here. He could make a lot of teams look silly in a few years.

 

[NJDevs26]

Quite a few shootout goals in that clip...our next Viktor Kozlov if nothing else

 

[HenriquesJawLine]

He's Russian and didn't score a lot the second half of the season, so that means he's lazy.

There's huge sleeper potential here. He could make a lot of teams look silly in a few years.

Said it in the other thread but Sokolov fell to the 7th last year for similar reasons, had 48 goals this season

 

[Devils731]

Seems to have pretty nice hands in tight for such a tall guy with a long stick. Shot seems decent too. I do not see a lot of highlights where he looks like he is skating hard but tall guys sometimes look like they're skating lazy while their long strides eat up ice quickly. Highlights won't show if a guy works hard or not.

 

[BenedictGomez]

It's not a secret that if you're Russian, you're going to drop in the draft from where you "should" be taken. In that context, I love these late 3rd to whenever-after-that picks used on Russian players. This kid dropped like a lead-balloon over where he was projected. Just keep the Russian mafia or oligarchs away from his family, and you may just find a true gem.

 

[Just Win]

My favorite pick of the day so far. If he doesn't demand to be traded he probably would have been picked in the early 2nd round.

 

[ghdi]

This is my favorite pick of today. Take the shot with a 4th, its a no lose situation.

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Lol at how big he is

A kid with those puck skills and absurd size is a great play in the 4th round.

 

[HITMAN88]

Nico to Nikita. The Devils scoresss!!!!

 

[Devils Dominion]

A home run potential for sure.

 

[Billdo]

It's refreshing to see these type of picks instead of the Chathams, Baddocks, etc.

 

[Devils Dominion]

It's refreshing to see these type of picks instead of the Chathams, Baddocks, etc.

Yep, and the slow defensemen who fight too.

 

[Billdo]

Yep, and the slow defensemen who fight too.

Bingo. You can see the way the league is moving towards skilled players with speed. Glad we're adapting.

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

so pumped Shero grabbed him before he fell any further

 

[Combat Koala]

Nice! This is the type of drafting you want to see from Castron & co. I thought Popugaev would go earlier on in the draft. Very pleased with this. Boom/bust regardless but as a 4th round pick it's fine. Big guy with skill, I like it.

 

[Caser]

 

[thethinglonger]

Some more display of his skating speed:



Start around the 3:20 mark

 

[Cheddabombs]

Between Popugaev and Boqvist I am one happy camper. Popugaev has so much potential. There are red flags for sure, and I'd say there is validity to them, but it's nothing he can't overcome. And if he does he can be a hell of a player. Someone with his size, skill and speed aren't common. Well worth taking at this point in the draft.