Prospect Info: At 19th Overall the Predators Select Fyodor Svechkov

[herzausstein]

Glad askarov and his wife are in TN. Now if we could only get our other Russian prospects over here Chistyakov/svechkov

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Chistyakov seems to be off to a good start this season? Haven't heard much about him but he already has more goals (1) and points (3) than he did all of last season. Presumably he has moved up into the regular D rotation and a more prominent role now.

 

[Scoresberg]

Little update on Svechkov:

He just got demoted to the MHL (the Junior league in Russia) to MHC Spartak today and scored two goals in the game. He played on the first line as a center.

He has played 13 games with Khimik in the VHL (Russia's AHL) and has 6 points in those games. He's played mostly at center but some games on the left wing.

He has also played in the KHL for 11 games with Spartak Moscow, but doesn't have any points as he's mostly played on the 4th line wing.

 

[GoldOnGold]

Progression seems a bit worrying

 

[LCPreds]

Progression seems a bit worrying

Seems to be the trend for most of our prospects.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

We need to get this guy in Milwaukee to get Taylor working with him

 

[Scoresberg]

Progression seems a bit worrying

Russia's a hard place to develop as a teenager. You're not going to get many looks in the KHL, which may hinder your development and the Junior League may be a bit too easy at this point for Svechkov. That is why Russian prospects usually take more time than NA prospects.

I'm not overly worried, and I like the pick still. He's not going to be a dynamic scorer at any level, but I could see him as a defensively-responsible, better-at-offense-than-he-gets-credit-for middle-six center.

 

[Zine]

Russia's a hard place to develop as a teenager. You're not going to get many looks in the KHL, which may hinder your development and the Junior League may be a bit too easy at this point for Svechkov. That is why Russian prospects usually take more time than NA prospects.

I'm not overly worried, and I like the pick still. He's not going to be a dynamic scorer at any level, but I could see him as a defensively-responsible, better-at-offense-than-he-gets-credit-for middle-six center.

Nah, development isn't hindered in Russia. It's just generally a different development philosophy.
Develepment is a marathon, not a sprint. Less emphasis is put on immediate gratification. Players arent rushed.
It's kinda different in the NHL where players are seen more as monitary assets. It' a business, so there's a need to develop them more quickly.
There is no right or wrong. just differences.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

We tend to let players play in lower leagues they can excel in. Sometimes because that's just what the system mandates. In Russia it seems like they... well they put them in higher leagues but then don't play them, and sort of just trust that it doesn't hurt them to bounce around and not play games, while still doing all their skill development outside of game action.

This doesn't entirely clash with the stuff I see for longshot prospects in North America who just work their butts off to climb level and do a lot of stuff away from games that factors significantly into their ultimate development. A few kids on my son's team have just gone so gung-ho on working out and grown and developed such that they were higher-level picks, even though you would never have guessed it relative to others just a couple years ago.

So I feel like development is definitely a thing which can proceed a little offline from flashy big league stats. Up to a point. But nevertheless, you'd rather see your guy doing well in a higher league if at all possible. So for Svechkov... well... he's "too good for the MHL"... "a little underwhelming at VHL".... "not used in KHL".... which adds up to...

I guess in the end it adds up to "no panic" to me. Like with Askarov not playing games and bouncing all over, it's kind of a case where if they do happen to perform and stick at a higher level, well, that would be astonishing and a nice bonus, but not necessarily an issue either if they don't. Yet.

Svechkov is going to be a case where patience is required. I guess Wyatt Johnston and a few others are going to provide immediate dividends that make us question that pick for a few years, but I'll try to keep a level head. I liked the Svechkov pick, it can still work out.

 

[Zine]

We tend to let players play in lower leagues they can excel in. Sometimes because that's just what the system mandates. In Russia it seems like they... well they put them in higher leagues but then don't play them, and sort of just trust that it doesn't hurt them to bounce around and not play games, while still doing all their skill development outside of game action.

This doesn't entirely clash with the stuff I see for longshot prospects in North America who just work their butts off to climb level and do a lot of stuff away from games that factors significantly into their ultimate development. A few kids on my son's team have just gone so gung-ho on working out and grown and developed such that they were higher-level picks, even though you would never have guessed it relative to others just a couple years ago.

So I feel like development is definitely a thing which can proceed a little offline from flashy big league stats. Up to a point. But nevertheless, you'd rather see your guy doing well in a higher league if at all possible. So for Svechkov... well... he's "too good for the MHL"... "a little underwhelming at VHL".... "not used in KHL".... which adds up to...

I guess in the end it adds up to "no panic" to me. Like with Askarov not playing games and bouncing all over, it's kind of a case where if they do happen to perform and stick at a higher level, well, that would be astonishing and a nice bonus, but not necessarily an issue either if they don't. Yet.

Svechkov is going to be a case where patience is required. I guess Wyatt Johnston and a few others are going to provide immediate dividends that make us question that pick for a few years, but I'll try to keep a level head. I liked the Svechkov pick, it can still work out.

Expectations were set too high for Svechkov this year though.

He had a great offensive season in the VHL last year, but that was an aberration.
Last year's Neva squad was absurdly deep offensively. Getting points was easy for everybody.

Svechkov is good enough to get points when he plays with talented players, but he's not an offensive player per se. He's never been able to geenrate a whole lot by himself. I mean he's never even set the MHL on fire. He's a good compliment for offensive guys; or an ideal 3rd line player who can do a bit of everything. Valuable guy come playoff time.

 

[PredsV82]

I'm guessing there isnt much way he could get out of Russia even if we wanted to bring him over.

 

[Zine]

I'm guessing there isnt much way he could get out of Russia even if we wanted to bring him over.

That’s assuming Svechkov is willing to play in the AHL.
That league isn't the most attractive option for most guys as it’s kinda viewed as a dump league, rightly or wrongly.
The majority of Russians in the AHL are the dudes who played juniors in N.A.
Askarov being one of the exceptions.
Well see, his contract ends in a few months.

 

[Scoresberg]

Bouncing around on three different teams during the season, getting low ice-time on two of those on top of playing mostly on the wing which isn't your natural position.

Yeah.. I'd say there are objectively *better* development philosophies.

 

[triggrman]

I wasn’t big on the pick when we made it. Read too much like Poiles early career picks.

 

[Scoresberg]

I wasn’t big on the pick when we made it. Read too much like Poiles early career picks.

They might've emphasized a bit too much Svechkov's performance at the U18's, I agree on that. He was never going to be the dynamic scorer he was on that tournament.

But, overall I liked the player. He has high hockey IQ, as he isn't biggest nor the fastest. I think he will pan out as a middle-six center, but yeah overall he might leave you wanting more especially being a mid-1st round pick.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

They might've emphasized a bit too much Svechkov's performance at the U18's, I agree on that. He was never going to be the dynamic scorer he was on that tournament.

But, overall I liked the player. He has high hockey IQ, as he isn't biggest nor the fastest. I think he will pan out as a middle-six center, but yeah overall he might leave you wanting more especially being a mid-1st round pick.

Craig Button had him #6 and ISS had him #10, so it wasn't out of left field for us to take him where we did, especially given our longstanding history with centers.

Anyway, a slow simmer with him in Russia is fine, if that's what is probably in store. The emergence of Parssinen and hopefully Glass takes some of the pressure off this pick in the shorter term.

 

[Scoresberg]

Craig Button had him #6 and ISS had him #10, so it wasn't out of left field for us to take him where we did, especially given our longstanding history with centers.

Anyway, a slow simmer with him in Russia is fine, if that's what is probably in store. The emergence of Parssinen and hopefully Glass takes some of the pressure off this pick in the shorter term.

Button is known for overrating prospects by their U18 performance. I think it's a bit silly, because the U18's only last for a couple weeks over the years long development the prospects have had up to that point. Some value, for sure, but not too much.

His contract is up this year, so I think him coming over in like April, is not completely out of the question.

 

[Scoresberg]

Another two-point game for Svechkov in the MHL. 6 points in 3 games.

 

[Scoresberg]

Svechkov got his 1st goal in the KHL in a 5-3 win.

 

[nine_inch_fang]

It's good that he's back up and produced, maybe he'll stick.

 

[Scoresberg]

Dude gonna be good

 

[Scoresberg]

It ought to be mentioned that since being elevated to the top-six, Svechkov has 2 points in 3 games.

 

[Scoresberg]

 

[Scoresberg]

That boy good

 

[Scoresberg]

Some Svechkov update:

He's now playing in the MHL (Russian Junior League) playoffs.

He's playing as the 1C for MHC Spartak who just advanced to the 2nd round after 3-1 series win. He had 3 points in those 4 games.