I didn't care for his style at a cursory glance. I didn't think it was sustainable. It was a package of tools I wouldn't turn down at a certain point, but I had him pegged as someone that should rightfully slip on draft day (nationality aside) initially. And to the point that I was disappointed that the Stars drafted him, as I root for the Stars to draft well. I take no pride in deriding picks (especially lottery picks) that a team makes, that this team makes...
So, when I was at the draft, I thought about what I was going to write. Should I sugarcoat it and be excited for those that are being excited...or should I go out on a limb and say what I feel and say that this top-10 pick probably isn't going to be much of anything at the NHL level...with the scenario that it could forever go in my hall of shame...
Fortunately (for me, I guess), I really took the time to examine his game. And I came away impressed, as you can see...it's not perfect, it's not a stonecold lock to be anything, but it's better than I initially thought...it's rare that I have such a change of heart, normally my first instinct is the one I go with...mainly, because on closer examination, I've determined my first look was the "right" look (as far as my own opinion goes).
The Ovechkin comparison isn't awful, but I just can't speak as to why it's just not a match to my eyes. It's all in the calculation of it all...I can't quite put it into words, but I see so much more Malkin vs. Ovechkin/Nash. Even though his stat lines will be more Ovechkin/Nash like...from a playmaking, or lack thereof, standpoint, yes, at the binary level, Ovy and Nash are more on point.
The stat lines are all sample size and context really...I wouldn't read much into it. He played one year in the Russian Junior league when he was 16 playing against older kids (he finished top-10 in league scoring among that youngest age group). One year later, he's a point per game in a small sample size. Also throws some goals in at a plentiful pace in the second-tier VHL. Then he's playing pretty effective hockey as a 17 year old in the second best league in the world. That's ok in my book in terms of level of competition.
Nickname that also won't make it into future articles: Klaatu Valeri Nichu.