F Bulat Shafigullin - Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, KHL (2018, 82nd, LAK)

[Kshahdoo]

And another assist. So now he has 10 points in 4 games.

The MHL site says, he had actually 11 points after that game. Yeasterday he added another point and now he's 2+10 after 5 games.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I wish the Habs had good scouts.. with four 2nd round picks, this guy is an obvious gamble.

 

[Yoshidas Island]

I wish the Habs had good scouts.. with four 2nd round picks, this guy is an obvious gamble.

Honestly I can see a team taking a flier on him in the first round. I like him in the late 20s.

 

[Caser]

 

[Kshahdoo]

He's 4+10 in just 6 games now. Leading the playoffs in scoring with his linemate Razat Temirov, but Bulat has two less games played.

 

[hockeydraftcentral]

This guy scored 20 goals in the MHL this season. He's ranked by major scouting services, and yet Central Scouting did not include him in its European rankings?

I was so curious about this that I put together a video of all his MHL goals. You can watch it on my site's page for him at:

Bulat Shafigullin career profile at HockeyDraftCentral.com

Or, if you're not interested in the full profile page, you can watch it here:



This guy is tall, lanky, and knows how to put the puck in the net. He scored his 20 goals in only 22 games! His skating is not good, but it seemed to get better with each goal, and he looks like a player who always senses where he should be on the ice. He was even called up to the KHL early in the season.

So what's the deal with this guy? Why doesn't Central Scouting give him any respect? Did I miss something in their rankings? Is there some off-ice issue here?

Do you see him getting drafted, and if so, in what round?

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

idk, his name screams bust

 

[LeafChief]

BULAT!

 

[Tryamkin]

I don’t understand that either. He’s a first round talent no doubt, and the skating is getting better.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Russian playing in Russia. They could go anywhere from rounds 2-7. You just don't know.

Almost every year I have multiple Russian players playing in Russia who are on my draft list, but they either don't get drafted or get drafted many rounds after where I rank them.

 

[Lays]

I don’t get how Denisenko is ranked 1st round but Bulat usually isn’t even ranked above 4th round. He’s producing better than Kucherov did in his draft year (not saying he’ll end up as good as Kucherov) in the same league and he has much better numbers than Denisenko. He even has better size than Denisenko. He should at least be a 2nd round staple but not even that

 

[JungleBeat]

He and Kravstov should go ahead of Denisenko.

 

[hockeydraftcentral]

Russian playing in Russia. They could go anywhere from rounds 2-7. You just don't know.

Almost every year I have multiple Russian players playing in Russia who are on my draft list, but they either don't get drafted or get drafted many rounds after where I rank them.

Very good point, but you can't factor that into draft rankings. You have to go with the players who have the most talent, even if they might never come over to North America, so don't feel bad about ranking Russians who never get drafted. They deserve to be in the rankings, regardless of their nationality. I'm sure I'll have a lot of that no-draft issue with my own list this year.

Culturally, it can be very hard for Russian players to make the jump across the ocean, and part of that is likely their national pride and desire not to let down their countrymen who follow the KHL. They have to really want to play in the NHL to turn their backs on the KHL, and the ones most inclined to make that decision are now coming over to the CHL well before draft day. Thus, the ones who don't opt for major-junior are suddenly suspect as far as their desire to come. Even the best Russian players might want to get a few KHL seasons in before coming over just to show they took that league seriously.

Keep an eye on the Russians who show up for the actual draft in Dallas. Outside of the CHL Russians, they might be the ones who want it most.

 

[BigRangy]

Watching the video, it doesn’t seem like he has the flashy offensive skills of a Kucherov type. Not much puck carrying, mostly just finding his way to good spots and a quick and accurate shot. Did have a few pretty goals though.

I’d like to see a highlight package of his assists, I think that would help tremendously in evaluation of him.

 

[ProspectsFanatic]

You don't get those kinds of numbers by being just decent skill wise. Shafigullin has very good skills across the board, not sure how you concluded is skating isn't good, his skating is actually quite good, very good puck skills, shooting ability and he indeed has strong hockey IQ. I haven't seen him play enough to clearly evaluate his compete level and D game, but I know he is being used on the PK of his MHL team.

The real reason why he is going under the radar is that he never played in any international game because he is a couple day away from being eligible to play with the age group of most draft eligible. Scouts don't really watch the MHL games, so he didn't have exposure to showcase his skills to them. Not the first time I see this happening. Quite dumb if you ask me.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Watching the video, it doesn’t seem like he has the flashy offensive skills of a Kucherov type. Not much puck carrying, mostly just finding his way to good spots and a quick and accurate shot. Did have a few pretty goals though.

I’d like to see a highlight package of his assists, I think that would help tremendously in evaluation of him.

I think this goal was pretty flashy



Here is another one

 

[Kshahdoo]

idk, his name screams bust

To me Scheifele screams bust...

 

[Howie Hodge]

Bulat? Yes; I like him very nice!

 

[Alessandro Seren Rosso]

I don’t get how Denisenko is ranked 1st round but Bulat usually isn’t even ranked above 4th round. He’s producing better than Kucherov did in his draft year (not saying he’ll end up as good as Kucherov) in the same league and he has much better numbers than Denisenko. He even has better size than Denisenko. He should at least be a 2nd round staple but not even that

At Kucherov's times the league was at a higher level. Denisenko plays in a much more stacked team with ice time significantly lower. Shafigullin at this point is a good-skilled long shot, nothing more.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I have him rated very highly and ahead of Denisenko. Sure, it's the MHL but that doesn't take away from his skill.

He's a tall kid who displays good puck protection skills. He has quick hands and a shot that can beat goalies from distance. The most impressive aspects of his game are knowing where to be to get a good chance at scoring but also his accuracy in tight. This isn't a talented russian kid making plays on the perimeter, a lot of his goals were scored in tight and in traffic.. in every one of those goals, he put it exactly where he needed to put it.

One of the goals in that highlight package was a tic-tac-toe play but instead of trying to tap it in along the ice and beat the goalie to the post, he hooked it up over pad level and ensured that if the lateral movement beat the pass, that the goalie would still have no chance of stopping it.

Talent. He's got it. He goes to the right areas. Doesn't need a lot of time and can score in tight and in traffic. That's a recipe for a good gamble.

 

[Lays]

At Kucherov's times the league was at a higher level. Denisenko plays in a much more stacked team with ice time significantly lower. Shafigullin at this point is a good-skilled long shot, nothing more.

Thanks. I watch them play quite a bit and I do come away slightly more impressed with Denisenko but Shafigullin also impresses me. He has to work on his skating a little but I really don't think he should be rated so much lower than Denisenko.

 

[Kshahdoo]

I have him rated very highly and ahead of Denisenko. Sure, it's the MHL but that doesn't take away from his skill.

He's a tall kid who displays good puck protection skills. He has quick hands and a shot that can beat goalies from distance. The most impressive aspects of his game are knowing where to be to get a good chance at scoring but also his accuracy in tight. This isn't a talented russian kid making plays on the perimeter, a lot of his goals were scored in tight and in traffic.. in every one of those goals, he put it exactly where he needed to put it.

One of the goals in that highlight package was a tic-tac-toe play but instead of trying to tap it in along the ice and beat the goalie to the post, he hooked it up over pad level and ensured that if the lateral movement beat the pass, that the goalie would still have no chance of stopping it.

Talent. He's got it. He goes to the right areas. Doesn't need a lot of time and can score in tight and in traffic. That's a recipe for a good gamble.

Yeah, exactly what I think about the kid. But he's an above average skater as well and can dangle if needed. Overall, I'd say he is a pure sniper with very good IQ and shot, which usually transit well to the big league.

Denisenko on the other side is a flashy dangler, but I'm not impressed at all with his scoring abilities.

 

[Kshahdoo]

At Kucherov's times the league was at a higher level. Denisenko plays in a much more stacked team with ice time significantly lower. Shafigullin at this point is a good-skilled long shot, nothing more.

The whole Reactor top 6 was above PPG in the last season, and Shafigullin was the best out of them. And the youngest. But you can't say he was a lone star on the team. He actually played more KHL games, than MHL ones.

 

[Alessandro Seren Rosso]

The whole Reactor top 6 was above PPG in the last season, and Shafigullin was the best out of them. And the youngest. But you can't say he was a lone star on the team. He actually played more KHL games, than MHL ones.

He's probably the best of the bunch. I haven't said anything bad about him, just that he needs to work. Let's see if he makes the WJC squad next year, other than that he's a very long shot for the NHL draft.

 

[GoCaps2004]

Does anyone know what happened in his 1 KHL playoff game? 0 points, 27 PIMs