Prospect Info: Flames Pick Yan Kuznetsov at 50th

[Ace Rimmer]

I don't hate this pick, but he's not flashy by any means...

From this site:

Chris Peters - ESPN - June 30th: "He was the youngest player in the NCAA this season, but it rarely showed. Kuznetsov carries himself with a lot of poise and moves well for a hulking defenseman."

Trege Wilson - The Hockey Writers - May 22nd: "Yan Kuznetsov was the only under-18 defender in the NCAA, putting up 11 points in 34 games. He has a great shot and a good first pass. But it’s his work in his own zone that makes him stand out. He’s not the best skater but still has time to grow."

Josh Bell - The Hockey Writers - May 22nd: "Another underrated player in this draft class, I think Kuznetsov might be one of the best defensive players in this year’s group. As the youngest player in the NCAA, he more than held his own and looked very good. He played big minutes this year, and should only continue to get better."

Steve Koumianos - The Draft Analyst - Mar. 18th: "His biggest contribution on offense comes in the form of joining the rush and unleashing a heavy and accurate shot, but Kuznetsov also goes end to end thanks to a clean, powerful stride and impressive acceleration. His vision, creativity and pass accuracy are average, but he’s good at eluding pressure and playing keep-away long enough until forward support arrives."

 

[Unlimited Chequing]

Like Daemon Hunt?

That kid is going to be a Devils killer.

 

[InfinityIggy]

Wait and see pick I guess. Sounds like he is a long while off (which is okay), I suspect a part of the intrigue is that he is so young (17) and did relatively well as a Freshman.

 

[Tofveve]

Im going to go out on a limb and say I am moderately ok with this.

 

[DirtDiver]

We've had a lot of flashy 2nd round picks over the years and the more I read about this, the more it seems like this is an overly safe pick for our standards

Not every player we draft needs to be an offensive dynamo. We still need good shut down defensemen.

 

[Flamesfan62]

Very young D playing against grown men. He’s huge and is very good with his stick. This is a pretty safe pick but I don’t hate it. There’s definitely potential.

 

[Body Checker]

This kid was in the 2nd round talk usually so not a reach. Maybe a Regehr type.

 

[Flamesfan62]

.

 

[Flamesfan62]

Plays nothing like Regehr. He's basically Gus but more skilled and a worse skater.

I just realized I was on Kuznetsov and not Poirier. Facepalm. God i hate mobile. I like that comparison.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Not every player we draft needs to be an offensive dynamo. We still need good shut down defensemen.

plus he’s playing against Mostly 21-24 year old players in a lot of cases. I don’t think people realize how different that is. Than playing against 16, 17, 18 and 19 year old CHL players.

I think it’s a good pick because I have faith in our scouting staff.

 

[Rubi]

I certainly wasn't expecting the Flames to draft Kuznetsov as their 2nd round pick. Something about him must have really impressed the Flames scouts who obviously didn't think he would last until the 3rd round and that he was obviously better than all the other 160 or so players left. I was expecting the Flames to draft someone like Poirier.. but then we got him in the 3rd round so I guess it all worked out.

 

[DFF]

I certainly wasn't expecting the Flames to draft Kuznetsov as their 2nd round pick. Something about him must have really impressed the Flames scouts who obviously didn't think he would last until the 3rd round and that he was obviously better than all the other 160 or so players left. I was expecting the Flames to draft someone like Poirier.. but then we got him in the 3rd round so I guess it all worked out.

They figured out poirier type is not working..

But see him there in the 3rd is too tempting to pass

 

[Khrox]

I certainly wasn't expecting the Flames to draft Kuznetsov as their 2nd round pick. Something about him must have really impressed the Flames scouts

Some of the scouting reports came out, and I believe it was Tod Button's list where he outright said that he expected him to become a second pairing, with potential to be first pairing. I mean, I guess the whole 17 year old playing against 22-23 year olds and looking really good doing it (and not good for his age, but just, really good in general) also helped his case.

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

Sounds like an Ekholm type

 

[CamPopplestone]

Even if this guy is a bottom pairing dude that can keep the net front clear with his size, that would be cool. May not work out, but you can say that about literally any pick really.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

You guys should be a bit more excited about this pick. He won't run a PP at the NHL level but he has a hell of a lot going for him and is not a defensive, stay-at-home defensemen. I could see him as a really nice compliment to a more offensively minded partner. His draft year skill level is pretty similar in my eyes to what Carlo showed at that age.

 

[HighLifeMan]

This kid has some swagger too. He's very confident in his own abilities. Calls himself a big two way d that plays big minutes in any situation, with a hard shot, great skating, really high IQ and great positioning.

When you model your game after Seth Jones you think of yourself as more than just a defensive defensemen. I think we will see some significant growth in his offensive game in the years to come.

 

[OvermanKingGainer]

You guys should be a bit more excited about this pick. He won't run a PP at the NHL level but he has a hell of a lot going for him and is not a defensive, stay-at-home defensemen. I could see him as a really nice compliment to a more offensively minded partner. His draft year skill level is pretty similar in my eyes to what Carlo showed at that age.

I was a huge fan of Carlo in his draft year! That'd be an awesome outcome!

 

[User1996]

This pick really is growing on me. Could become a nice “modern shutdown” D

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

Love the last few comments.

 

[Yepthatsme]

Unfortunately had to read through an Eric Francis article to get this, but this is a quote from Treliving. “I talked to coach Igor Larionov today and barring anything dramatic he’ll be on this team (Russian WJC). I think he’s going to be a stud”

Pretty good to hear we have a good chance to get more representation at the world juniors with Kusnetsov, and I also can’t think of many times Treliving has made such positive (and bold) comments about a prospect.

 

[Flamesfan62]

Unfortunately had to read through an Eric Francis article to get this, but this is a quote from Treliving. “I talked to coach Igor Larionov today and barring anything dramatic he’ll be on this team (Russian WJC). I think he’s going to be a stud”

Pretty good to hear we have a good chance to get more representation at the world juniors with Kusnetsov, and I also can’t think of many times Treliving has made such positive (and bold) comments about a prospect.

He’s basically a lock for their team. I don’t get why people are so against a safer pick, he’s playing against men and putting up good numbers and has some untapped potential offensively. I think he’ll make some noise at the WJCs

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

He’s basically a lock for their team. I don’t get why people are so against a safer pick, he’s playing against men and putting up good numbers and has some untapped potential offensively. I think he’ll make some noise at the WJCs

becausr no one in HF actually watches prospects and there is an obsession with tangible results. When you don’t watch prospects the only thing tangible is their stat line. His isn’t impressive because of his situation. He has a low NHLe (even though it’s 100% meaningless for 17 year old NCAA D) and therefor our stay guys like Dack have already labeled him a bad pick without ever watching him

 

[Dack]

I've said I don't think his stats are that bad considering he likely doesn't (didn't he's on the 2nd unit now) get powerplay time and he's so young for the NCAA. On top of that I intend to watch him play for Russia so I can get a better look at how he plays. The reason I see it as a Longshot is because almost all of the defensemen at the NHL level were good offensive d men in junior. There are exceptions but that's what they're exceptions (Tanev, Hjarmalson, Pence and Paryko kind of...) are a few of the massive amounts of low scoring d men picked every year. They worked out, most don't.

How to Evaluate Defensive Play

This is a quick read about why a lot of these big, good defensive players don't end up being NHLers. If you aren't good at one facet of the game at a lower level that difference only gets bigger the higher up you go.

I have some hope for Kuznetsov but part of what makes me not like this pick was reading his prospect thread, it sounds like he's a good defensive player but with almost zero offense and that worries me because again, most "stay at home" dmen at the NHL level were once very good offensive players at the lower levels, their point production didn't translate because of how big the gap is from junior vs NHL competition (again I know not everyone was a big producer).



Now on the positive side, Kuznetsov's situation is unique. I remember a post about how only 4 U18 d-men have played in the NCAA, so not many comparables for how he "should" be producing. On top of that I like some of the twitter clips I've seen of him, gap looks good, smart in transition, he's a good skater and capable of landing big hits without throwing himself out of position. On top of that Kuznetsov is young, I'm still semi-optimistic about him improving to a point where he is a dominant college player and he's probably got 3 years (this one included) to do that. I'm not even that low on him, I like this pick waaaaaaay more than the Boltman pick (not trying to shit on Boltman), I just worry that he'll hit the wall of not good enough to play his way at a higher level.

 

[Flamesfan62]

becausr no one in HF actually watches prospects and there is an obsession with tangible results. When you don’t watch prospects the only thing tangible is their stat line. His isn’t impressive because of his situation. He has a low NHLe (even though it’s 100% meaningless for 17 year old NCAA D) and therefor our stay guys like Dack have already labeled him a bad pick without ever watching him

I don’t see a point of labeling prospects if you haven’t seen them, stats can only go so far. And NHLe can be very misleading.