Finished the year at #22 on my WHL list ahead of the 2015 NHL Draft:
http://whl-from-above.blogspot.ca/2015/05/final-whl-rankings-2015-nhl-draft.html
#22 Pavel Karnaukhov
Team: Calgary Hitmen
Position: LW/C
Shoots: L
Height: 6’2.5
Weight: 194
GP: 69
Goals: 20
Assists: 22
Points: 42
Pts/Gm: 0.60
PIM: 51
Player Analysis: Pavel Karnaukhov is a long and raw Russian forward for the Calgary Hitmen…possesses a skating stride that has shown marked improvement throughout his rookie WHL season but still lacks an explosive next gear…displays strong edge work with decent but not outstanding footwork overall…footwork is a bit clumsy when he is in tight spaces…crosses over well, giving him an added boost of speed and mobility…could add more speed to his game if he lengthened out his stride a bit further in open ice…has good hands, showing the ability to both give and receive a pass…has shown the ability to handle the puck in tighter areas but could stand to be a bit stronger on his stick both during handling and during attempted shots…has shown a small tendency to over handle the puck at times, trying to do too much within the play…has shown the ability to patrol the slot before crashing the net right as linemates get the puck to the net…has a strong ability to read the upcoming play offensively…could stand to be a bit more aggressive in his offensive positioning and reads, though…displays a very mature understanding of defensive positioning, even when the puck is in the offensive zone…his length and smarts give him a nice leg up on the defensive side of the puck…is not afraid to play physical and will finish checks when necessary…with that being said, his overall compete and general “difficulty to play against” is rather inconsistent and could be upped a couple of notches…while not being a pure offensive guy or complete shutdown guy I think he offers strong value as a two-way prospect...has shown the ability to play both the wing and centre but has looked far more comfortable down the middle during my viewings…was moved around the Hitmen’s top 9 forward group with much regularity, likely classifying him as a 3rd line player overall…was also used regularly on the powerplay…had a stark drop-off in his offensive production when comparing the first half of the season to the second…had 0.73 PPG up until December 31st but only produced 15 points in his final 32 regular season games (0.47 PPG), good for a 35% decline…was that due to fatigue or a lack of drive?...luckily for him he seemed to increase his intensity come the postseason and it translated on the scoresheet with 11 points in 17 playoff games, a mark higher than his regular season points-per-game totals...his 20 goals during the regular season were good for T-8th among all first-year draft-eligible WHL forwards…was a 1st round selection, 56th overall, by the Calgary Hitmen at the 2014 CHL Import Draft…overall I like a lot of the tools Karnaukhov brought to the table this season…he has all the tools to be an extremely good NHL prospect, but unfortunately he just often left me wanting more on a regular basis…he would show flashes in every game I saw him, but the consistent push just wasn’t always there from him…ultimately his potential and skillset earn him a decent spot on this list as his upside is extremely high, being that of a legit top 9 NHL player if his development goes very good…I expect we’ll see him come off the board somewhere in the 4th or 5th round range come the 2015 NHL Draft and I would rate him in about that spot, too…
