C/W Marat Khusnutdinov (2020, 37th, MIN)

snipes

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Dec 28, 2015
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Michkov is already a better offensive player, than Khusnutdinov...

As you know Michkov is trending towards generational prospect status along the lines of Crosby, McDavid, Ovechkin so not entirely shocking.

Michkov is probably the best Russian prospect ever, you likely have to go back to Soviet days to find a 15 year old Russian hockey player as good as Michkov.
 

Barry Amsterdam

Nättias Dänielstrom
Apr 2, 2013
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As you know Michkov is trending towards generational prospect status along the lines of Crosby, McDavid, Ovechkin so not entirely shocking.

Michkov is probably the best Russian prospect ever, you likely have to go back to Soviet days to find a 15 year old Russian hockey player as good as Michkov.
maybe kozlov before his accident
 
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snipes

How cold? I’m ice cold.
Dec 28, 2015
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Kozlov was very good, but he was never considered better, than Bure. And Bure wasn't as good as Michkov at 15.

Bure was a better skater. But that’s about all he has Michkov at the same age.

Michkov has that same trait all generational talents have — he’s 5 chess moves ahead of everyone else on the ice. That type of intuitive hockey IQ are God given gifts for lack of a better term.

From my viewings, and reports from Russians in the hockey world that I trust, Michkov is likely the best prospect Russia has produced. Most accounts are you need to look to Soviet era players to find an equivalent at the same age.
 
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Kshahdoo

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Mar 23, 2008
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Still, it's about Khusnutdinov, and I personally doubt, he's good enough even for a 2nd round pick.

I mean, NA people are kinda weird. They couldn't find any round pick for Panarin, who was already a solid KHLer at the same age as Khusnutdinov. They couldn't find any better pick, than a 5th rounder, for Kaprizov, who at the same age played on the 1st line of the KHL team (even if it was the poorest and weakest one), and now they consider Khusnutdinov good enough for a high 2nd rounder at least.

Yeah, he's an elite skater, but all other his skills aren't even good enough to tear up the MHL.
 

Captain Clutch

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May 2, 2012
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In what parallel universe do you exist that Khusnutdinov is not a high quality prospect.

1. He's 8 weeks away from being eligible for the 2021 draft, so he's very young for his draft year. Rodion Amirov by comparison is 3 weeks away from being a 2019 draft eligible, he's 9 months older than Khusnutdinov.
2. Despite being very young for his draft year, he accomplished the following:

- #4 in the entire MHL in expected primary points per 60 minutes at 2.77, he played under 15 minutes per game on the loaded SKA squad, much of which was spent killing penalties because he is widely regarded as the best defensive forward in the MHL for his age group. He is a tireless forechecker and dangerous in this role due to his breakaway speed.

- #1 in the MHL in EV/GF% at 80.8%. Khusnutdinov led the league in the percentage of even-strength goals scored by the player's team while the player was on the ice. This ranks him above Beryozkin, Pashin & Amirov, among all others.

- #3 in the MHL in Even Strength Primary Points/Game at .68. This ramks behind only Amirov & Maxim Nevolin. of course, Khusnutdinov played only 14.8 minutes per game compared to Amirov at 20.65 minutes/game and Nevolin at 16.11 minutes per game. 31 of Khusnutdinov's 38 MHL points were scored at even strength meaning he received very little power play time at SKA, making his offensive output all the more impressive.

- Khusnutdinov won over 60% of the 617 face-offs he took in his 1st season in the MHL, he is currently winning face-offs at a 68.5% clip, having taken 120 face-offs so far in the new season. He was a PLUS 27 last year in +/-.

- Khusnutdinov captained Russia's gold medal winning team at last year's Hlinka/Gretzky, a squad that included Gushchin, Pashin, Mukhamadullin, Ponomaryov, Askarov & Tyutnev so his leadership qualities are evident.

No one is claiming he is Cole Perfetti or Marco Rossi but to say that this kid does not warrant a 2nd round draft ranking in this draft is just ignorant of the facts of his game. He projects as one of the elite defensive players in his draft class, who is excellent at the face-off circle and by the way is a high output offensive player. Does he have the playmaking ability of the draft's truly elite players, no, but if you can get an elite defensive center in the 2nd round who also projects to add an offensive dimension to his game, as an NHL GM, that's GREAT value for that spot. He's not going to be Sebastian Aho but he's a very very good player by any standard and CLEARLY worthy of a 2nd round ranking, in fact
 
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Pavel Buchnevich

Drury and Laviolette Must Go
Dec 8, 2013
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As you know Michkov is trending towards generational prospect status along the lines of Crosby, McDavid, Ovechkin so not entirely shocking.

Michkov is probably the best Russian prospect ever, you likely have to go back to Soviet days to find a 15 year old Russian hockey player as good as Michkov.

I don’t know about that. Not the biggest player or the best skater. I’m not saying he can’t be an elite NHL’er since he obviously can, but it seems like a little much to call him generational because he’s destroying junior leagues. People are also calling Shane Wright generational. Can two players from the same year be generational? It’s asking a lot.
 

gusev nikita

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Apr 27, 2020
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Kshahdoo

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Mar 23, 2008
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In what parallel universe do you exist that Khusnutdinov is not a high quality prospect.

1. He's 8 weeks away from being eligible for the 2021 draft, so he's very young for his draft year. Rodion Amirov by comparison is 3 weeks away from being a 2019 draft eligible, he's 9 months older than Khusnutdinov.
2. Despite being very young for his draft year, he accomplished the following:

- #4 in the entire MHL in expected primary points per 60 minutes at 2.77, he played under 15 minutes per game on the loaded SKA squad, much of which was spent killing penalties because he is widely regarded as the best defensive forward in the MHL for his age group. He is a tireless forechecker and dangerous in this role due to his breakaway speed.

- #1 in the MHL in EV/GF% at 80.8%. Khusnutdinov led the league in the percentage of even-strength goals scored by the player's team while the player was on the ice. This ranks him above Beryozkin, Pashin & Amirov, among all others.

- #3 in the MHL in Even Strength Primary Points/Game at .68. This ramks behind only Amirov & Maxim Nevolin. of course, Khusnutdinov played only 14.8 minutes per game compared to Amirov at 20.65 minutes/game and Nevolin at 16.11 minutes per game. 31 of Khusnutdinov's 38 MHL points were scored at even strength meaning he received very little power play time at SKA, making his offensive output all the more impressive.

- Khusnutdinov won over 60% of the 617 face-offs he took in his 1st season in the MHL, he is currently winning face-offs at a 68.5% clip, having taken 120 face-offs so far in the new season. He was a PLUS 27 last year in +/-.

- Khusnutdinov captained Russia's gold medal winning team at last year's Hlinka/Gretzky, a squad that included Gushchin, Pashin, Mukhamadullin, Ponomaryov, Askarov & Tyutnev so his leadership qualities are evident.

No one is claiming he is Cole Perfetti or Marco Rossi but to say that this kid does not warrant a 2nd round draft ranking in this draft is just ignorant of the facts of his game. He projects as one of the elite defensive players in his draft class, who is excellent at the face-off circle and by the way is a high output offensive player. Does he have the playmaking ability of the draft's truly elite players, no, but if you can get an elite defensive center in the 2nd round who also projects to add an offensive dimension to his game, as an NHL GM, that's GREAT value for that spot. He's not going to be Sebastian Aho but he's a very very good player by any standard and CLEARLY worthy of a 2nd round ranking, in fact

I watched all 8 Khusnutdinov's MHL games this season, and it was obvious to me, he didn't outskill the league the way top 18 yo prospect should. He's going to be another Rubtsov, not Gurianov.
 

gusev nikita

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
101
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moscow
I watched all 8 Khusnutdinov's MHL games this season, and it was obvious to me, he didn't outskill the league the way top 18 yo prospect should. He's going to be another Rubtsov, not Gurianov.

check out more games. let's not rate after 8 games. I believe in Marat he is a great team player, a leader. He has a children's trainer who worked with him for 10 years Kurdin Gennady. This coach brought up Kucherov, Gusev. So it's too early to say that Marat can become Rubtsov or someone else. Everyone has their own way in hockey and each player goes their own way.
 

gusev nikita

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
101
38
moscow
Marat Khusnutdinov, C
Shoots Left
KHL/MHL
5’9” - 165lbs
Consensus: 34-55
O, Marat. Forgive me people because I’m about to gush. This is a kid that started in my second round, but the more I watched him the more I just feel in love. He moved from my second round, then got moved up to my first round, then into my top five, then first in my top 5, and now second in my top seven after Amirov started to drop, which is surprising. Marat is a stud.
Khusnutdinov is one of the best two way centers in the draft, possibly right after Lundell. It’s hard to get the puck away from him because of his speed and strength. And if he losses the puck he hates it and always works his ass off to get it back. Speaking of his speed this kid can fly, one of the better ones in the draft. Adding his speed to his playmaking ability makes him a handful to deal with. His shot is good but could certainly be better. The best part of Marat is he is one of the youngest in the draft, which means his potential could be even better than what he’s showing. He reminds me of Bergeron in play style: plays great defensively but his offensive brain is so good he won’t just be a shut down guy but someone that can make things happen to get the puck in the back of the net.
He’s almost a complete player, doesn’t need long to be in the NHL. He is Russian so he could stay over the pound longer but if he wanted the NHL wouldn’t be that far off. What’s so enticing about him is both his floor and ceiling are so high. At worst you’ll get a very good two way middle six center, and as a team that has Lars Eller the Capitals know how important that is. And that’s at his worst. At best he could be a legit two way, top line center you can throw at any situation. He reminds me a ton of Sebastian Aho, who also fell in the draft and is now one of the best centers in the game.

2020 NHL Draft: The Caps’ Top Seven Options
 
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gusev nikita

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
101
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moscow

gusev nikita

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
101
38
moscow
Hardev: I would be most happy with any one of Lundell, Amirov, or Yaroslav Askarov, should they fall to the Leafs. I find it hard to believe anyone else will fall, unless everyone suddenly wants to pretend Marco Rossi sucks. Players in the range if nothing wild happens will be Seth Jarvis, Dylan Holloway, Jack Quinn, and Dawson Mercer. All of them are forwards with complimentary top-six upside. In terms of reaching for a player or trading down a few spots, I would target Marat Khusnutdinov, who has incredible potential to be a top-six centre and no one seems to care about him.

2020 NHL Draft Roundtable: What prospects should the Leafs consider?
 

gusev nikita

Registered User
Apr 27, 2020
101
38
moscow
To be fair to that poster, most of the north american posters hyping him up haven't seen him in 1 full game even.

bad that we didn't see I hope there are specialists who will appreciate it. everything is in the hands of managers and someone can hit the jackpot, believe me. He will understand the truth about this later.
 

Kshahdoo

Registered User
Mar 23, 2008
19,363
8,654
Moscow, Russia
I was probably a litttle bit too harsh to Marat. In those last games he showed some nice hockey understanding, his IQ isn't as bad as I thought.
 

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