RD Bogdan Konyushkov - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, KHL (2023, 110th, MTL)

[Caser]

In this year's draft Canadiens picked an intriguing young right-handed defenseman and here I obviously mean Bogdan Konyushkov aka B.K.. He had a great debut season in the KHL, and off the ice he wears glasses, goes to theaters and reads Albert Camus - should be enough of reasoning to start a thread.

Bogdan Konyushkov - Defense - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)​

When a player is undrafted a couple of times already and is in his last year of draft eligibility, it takes something special for him to finally get noticed. If we look at the basic stat line it looks good, but not too special for defenseman Bogdan Konyushkov, which is likely the reason there isn’t much mainstream talk about him outside of Russia, yet even just pure stats can be more interesting if we look at those closer and at the right angle. First thing that stands out in case of Konyushkov is that despite his age he made his KHL debut just this season and actually led his KHL team in average ice time, as his cerebral game on both ends convinced coach Igor Larionov to immediately give him an opportunity for a leading role on the team. And if we look at advanced stats, those are telling that this trust paid off really well, as Konyushkov is among the league’s leaders in both completed pass amount and percentage, as well as in the puck battle win percentage — quite a debut season I’d say. As a bonus Konyushkov is right handed, just in case if everything described above isn’t convincing enough yet about him potentially being a very intriguing prospect for the coming draft.

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[Caser]

 

[Ezpz]

I think he's going to be an interesting prospect for us Habs fans to follow. From what I have heard he's under contract for the next three years and is already playing 20+ minutes a night at 20. He seems to move the puck well and has good positioning from the clips I have seen (though I am aware highlights can make any player look good).

It could be like the Emelin pick where he comes over in his mid-20's and is immediately top 4 ready. It was definitely a "who?" moment when he was picked, but so far it doesn't look like it was bad. Habs are one of the few teams that do European combines too, so I am more confident in their European picks than I used to be (it used to be, 'oh there's a wasted pick').

He doesn't look small on the ice but I've heard conflicting reports about what his height and weight are. Some are saying he's 200 pounds and others are saying closer to 175. This is the nature of obscure prospects though, sometimes it takes literally half a decade for eliteprospects or hockeydb to update stats on guys from when they were 16.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

Anyone know if he's captain, or do they rotate the captaincy ? There's a report he is wearing the C

 

[Marc the Habs Fan]

Looks like a rotation, the previous game Letunov was listed as the Captain.

NOV 3-1 ADM | Nizhny Novgorod - Vladivostok

www.flashscore.com

 

[barriers]

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Glad he's in Larionov's hands

 

[Garl]

Solid guy, at least in 1 Torpedo game I watched he was their best defenseman. But small

 

[Michoulicious]

Tied for 4th in the KHL for points by defensemen. Leads all Ds in icetime/game. More than a year younger than Nikishin as well, but 5'11 vs 6'3.

 

[montreal]

watched him today and was impressed again, showed some slick hands and elite mobility.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

 

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[montreal]

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

Been watching him a lot because of Kovalenko on Torpedo, and he's impressive. Very poised with the puck.

I wonder if Torpedo and Larionov's success playing young players in key roles will force any other KHL changes to change their ways. Maybe not, but it's been fun to watch.

 

[montreal]

Been watching him a lot because of Kovalenko on Torpedo, and he's impressive. Very poised with the puck.

I wonder if Torpedo and Larionov's success playing young players in key roles will force any other KHL changes to change their ways. Maybe not, but it's been fun to watch.

I have been shocked at how much ice time he's given Artamonov who has impressed me a ton.

 

[Michoulicious]

High praises from his coach, the legendary Larionov himself.

According to him, he'd already be a key piece on an NHL roster at 20 y old.

Talks as well about Silayev, whom he compares to Salming.

That Torpedo D corp is really young and interesting.

https://www.tvasports.ca/2023/09/27/konyushkov-serait-deja-un-joueur-cle-pour-montreal---igor-larionov

(french interview with Larionov)

 

[Skip Bayless]

I like how he temporizes the game at the blue line. Allows things to open up and executes at the right timing.

 

[Caser]

 

[GordieHowYaDoin]

The Professor has done a tremendous job for Torpedo and getting his young guns ice time and reaping the production rewards from it.

 

[Caser]

 

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[jfhabs]

Is it just me or that ice looks NA size?

 

[barriers]

Is it just me or that ice looks NA size?

The majority of KHL arenas have the NA/NHL standard 200' x 85' size. I'm not sure which teams still use the international or 'Finnish' sizes but the list is getting smaller

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Great pick by the Habs.

@montreal, what do you think about his NHL potential?

 

[montreal]

Great pick by the Habs.

@montreal, what do you think about his NHL potential?

He looks pretty good in the KHL but with the frame of a Jordan Harris, he will need to add a good bit of mass and strength. I've only seen about 8 games though.

What I will say is I feel everyone is sleeping on Artamonov, I always found him impressive in the games (which I have but can't upload to youtube since KHL games are geo blocked)