Great pick by Giants... first thing you notice about Osipov is hockey sense... he plays like he is 19 or 20 not 16... he is very very smart and will neutralize opponents with his active stick and positioning... his team did not so well in the 1996-born division but he was the big reason they only allowed 112 goals when they lost 21 out of 33 games (other teams with similar records let in 140, 170 goals)
Some stats...
31 GP, 0-4-4, 44 PIM
Some may laugh and go, well he did not blow apart his teammates in points... but he is not that kind of player... he is a very good skater in all directions and while he could probably jump up and take more risks... he is very conservative about using his gifts... he has very good hands and makes a strong first pass when the opportunity presents itself, but he is otherwise worried first and foremost about his end
Physically he is a very difficult player to play against... he does his best to use the wall to his advantage whenever possible... in this sense you may as well drop the "import" from his player card... he plays like he's a product of Manitoba or Alberta Bantam AAA... big, strong and very polished. If I was to compare him to another WHL player it would be Mirco Müller. He will need to adjust- he is a late 1996 remember so not NHL eligible until 2015- but the talent is there to be a top pairing WHL defender.
Interesting note... he was ranked 33rd by the KHL scouting service... however all of the top three teams talked to him about signing him... it just so happened when he was drafted the team was as said very far away... and he said after the draft he could not even name a player on the Khabarovsk roster. However, a picture's worth a thousand words... and there was a photo of him after he was selected in the KHL draft throwing up a "1" with his fingers while wearing a very glum look... I will see if I can find it again
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