Prospect Info: Pick #102 C/LW Mikhail Maltsev

[NJDevs26]

Maltsev was 63.1% on the dot in MHL this season, which is really impressive.

Sounds good, I'm tired of having centers that don't win faceoffs.

 

[JimEIV]

Seems like a humble kid, plus the name "Maltsev" just sounds like an NHL player to me

 

[Devils Dominion]

He played well in the OHL vs Russia prospects game.

 

[Zippy316]

A lot of the reports coming from this Four Nations Cup sound eeriely familiar to Bratt's Summer Showcase this past summer.

I wonder if they try to bring Maltsev over this summer. His contract ends after this season (17-18), whereas Rykov, Zaitsev, and Popugayev's end after (18-19). I would imagine SKA tries to lock him down to a long term but should be interesting to keep an eye on.

Good chance they try to convince the other three to come over together following 18-19 season if they continue performing well.

 

[Tretyak 20]

If Maltsev ends up being even half as good as Bratt has been so far, that would be amazing.

The book on him so far is he has the ceiling of a smart, somewhat gritty middle-six forward. I'd be thrilled if we got that out of him.

 

[Devils Dominion]

If Maltsev ends up being even half as good as Bratt has been so far, that would be amazing.

The book on him so far is he has the ceiling of a smart, somewhat gritty middle-six forward. I'd be thrilled if we got that out of him.

I noticed his skating is quicker and stronger than previously reported

I liked what I saw

 

[devilsblood]

A lot of the reports coming from this Four Nations Cup sound eeriely familiar to Bratt's Summer Showcase this past summer.

I wonder if they try to bring Maltsev over this summer. His contract ends after this season (17-18), whereas Rykov, Zaitsev, and Popugayev's end after (18-19). I would imagine SKA tries to lock him down to a long term but should be interesting to keep an eye on.

Good chance they try to convince the other three to come over together following 18-19 season if they continue performing well.

I'd say bring him over before he signs another 3 year deal over there. But do we then run the risk of him getting frustrated over lack of playing time and him running back to Russia never to return.

 

[NJ DevLolz]

 

[BenedictGomez]

This kid has looked fantastic in both games so far.

His KHL and underleague stats in Russia are, however, less than inspiring. Maybe he's just a late bloomer; so fingers-crossed he lights it up in Binghamton.

 

[Blender]

This kid has looked fantastic in both games so far.

His KHL and underleague stats in Russia are, however, less than inspiring. Maybe he's just a late bloomer; so fingers-crossed he lights it up in Binghamton.

I have been impressed with him every time I have watched him play going back to when we drafted him. He's a physical beast at 6'3" who skates very well for his size. I'm not convinced of his offensive ceiling, but young players coming out of Russia are extremely hard to judge based on stats.

 

[HBK27]

He's been a tough player to get a read on since being drafted, as he hasn't played a ton of games or put up many points in the KHL. He's looked impressive so far this camp and has certainly put himself in the group of early injury callups from Binghamton.

I looked back at some of what's been written about him.

In The Athletic's prospect pool review, Pronman had him ranked 17th as part of the "has a chance" tier:

Maltsev is a tough player for me to get a read on. He looks like an NHLer, yet he’s barely been able to make a dent in the KHL in his 20-year-old season. He did play for SKA, which is never an easy team to get ice time on, but it’s been a trend for years that the tools stand out with Maltsev but the results don’t follow. He’s a 6-foot-3 center with skill and vision, and his skating even has improved a bit, although he’s still not the quickest. I’ve seen shifts where he winds up, goes through a few opponents and generates a chance. That consistency hasn’t been there in his game though.

Meanwhile, back in May (about 2 weeks before he signed a contract with NJ), this was written about him:

“(Maltsev’s) played for one of the top, if not the top, KHL teams in SKA St. Petersburg and he wants to come to North America,” Fitzgerald said. “He wants to come. I’m going to have a talk with his agent. You can imagine the pressure he gets over there to sign and stay home, but I think the most important thing is the desire and passion of this kid to come play in North America. They can’t play in the NHL from over there, especially at 20. That’s what is impressive to us is he wants to do this. He can make a lot of money right now as a guy in the KHL, so we’ll be trying to work out a contract with his agent.”

Maltsev has been a bit of a mystery since the Devils drafted him. He did play for Russia at the world juniors last year and earned some KHL time this year. He was a regular for SKA in the KHL playoffs, finishing with a goal and three points in 17 games.

“He”s like Sharangovich,” Fitzgerald said. “He can play anywhere in your lineup. You can put him on the power play, penalty kill — he’s very responsible. Like Sharangovich, we think at the next level his feet need to improve and we think they will. You can’t teach size and you can’t teach headiness, especially as a center.”

Devils somewhat made it worth his while to come over, in he's at least getting a $92,500 signing bonus per year on top of the $70,000 AHL salary. Clearly, he's banking on making it to the NHL and I think he has a solid chance of doing so. I could see him getting in a few games this season if the injury bug hits and possible working towards a full-time bottom 6 role the season or two after.

If he does somewhat hit, you really have to give it up to Shero/Castron for their initial draft class. 5 of the 9 picks in 2016 have already played a game in the NHL, though Gignac (1 game) still has a long way to go. Davies and Rykov were valuable trade chips that both should get time in the NHL as early as this season. That leaves just Maltsev and Cormier as the other two NJ picks yet to crack the NHL. Cormier it quite the long shot (though who knows with goalies), but realistically we're looking at 8 of those 9 picks making it to the show. McLeod's improved play this preseason and Bastian's NHL callup last season put a little extra shine on the draft as well.

 

[Darkauron]

Still a long preseason to go.. But who knows.. Maybe they give him a few games or at least an extended look with practicing with the team more before going back to Bing.

Good first impression without having played an official NA pro game yet

 

[HBK27]

The fact that they put him out there on a line with Seney and Bratt (combined 176 NHL games) tonight was a positive sign of what they think of him so far.

 

[Blackjack]

Still a long preseason to go.. But who knows.. Maybe they give him a few games or at least an extended look with practicing with the team more before going back to Bing.

Good first impression without having played an official NA pro game yet

Assuming he keeps up this level of play I would love to see him get a few games in the biggs. That would be a real nice reward for signing his ELC and good motivation to get back up. It's not out of the question that he could win a spot outright either.

 

[Mgd31]

So what does everybody think of this guy? Floor/Ceiling? Definitely liked him in the 2 games he played thus far.

 

[Jason MacIsaac]

So what does everybody think of this guy? Floor/Ceiling? Definitely liked him in the 2 games he played thus far.

I think his ceiling is current Travis Zajac, which is still a very good player.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

So what does everybody think of this guy? Floor/Ceiling? Definitely liked him in the 2 games he played thus far.

I guess I’m hoping for a Zubrus-like player. Play up and down the lineup at center or wing, big, good possession, chip in 30-40 points? His floor is a good AHL player.

 

[Triumph]

It's hard to have 2 better games as an NHL debut as a 'checking line player' - he was used in the final minutes of both games he's played in, he has 6 shots on goal, his line was positive territorially in both games he played. He's even won more than 50% of faceoffs.

 

[NJDevs26]

It's hard to have 2 better games as an NHL debut as a 'checking line player' - he was used in the final minutes of both games he's played in, he has 6 shots on goal, his line was positive territorially in both games he played. He's even won more than 50% of faceoffs.

I thought last night was his debut lol, damn this long break

 

[njdevil26]

I guess I’m hoping for a Zubrus-like player. Play up and down the lineup at center or wing, big, good possession, chip in 30-40 points? His floor is a good AHL player.

This would an excellent thing for us if that's how he turned out. We have several prospects headed for the top six... but to have a player like Zubrus who could play anywhere in the lineup and put up points would be awesome.

 

[Jeff Babchuk]

Seems like a humble kid, plus the name "Maltsev" just sounds like an NHL player to me

Any relation to this... scrub?
Alexander Maltsev - Wikipedia

 

[Blackjack]

I think his ceiling is current Travis Zajac, which is still a very good player.

Jason may be onto something, this is extremely impressive so far.