Russians from the past few drafts.

[LightningFast]

The 2000 and 2001 drafts were russian loaded with great potential. A lot of these guys haven`t done squat yet so what do you expect from them?

2000-
M. Yakubov (Chicago)
P. Vorobiev (Chicago)
N. Alexeev (Tampa)
A. Smirnov (Anaheim)

2001-
A. Svitov (Columbus)
S. Chistov (Anaheim)
I. Knyazev (Carolina)

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[Russian_fanatic]

The 2000 and 2001 drafts were russian loaded with great potential. A lot of these guys haven`t done squat yet so what do you expect from them?

2000-
M. Yakubov (Chicago)
P. Vorobiev (Chicago)
N. Alexeev (Tampa)
A. Smirnov (Anaheim)

2001-
A. Svitov (Columbus)
S. Chistov (Anaheim)
I. Knyazev (Carolina)

Don't count Chistov out yet. He still owns wicked potential and I see him having a very good career.

 

[CapitalPunishment]

sorry off topic here for a second:

"Russian_fanatic
GO CANADA GO!!!"

^^ that cracked me up

 

[salty justice]

I think Yaks and Voro will be extremely mediocre 2nd line talent in a couple years. WOW Im pissed we didnt get Frolov

 

[octopi]

Probably second or third liners for the most part.Wasn't Pavel Datsyuk in one of those drafts, too?

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Probably second or third liners for the most part.Wasn't Pavel Datsyuk in one of those drafts, too?

No, Datsyuk is from way back (98, I think?)

Alexeev I don't like at all. At this point I think he is a non-NHLer. Really like Svitov and how he develops. Slowly but a good all-around player with some nice offensive potential. Don't know if he will pan out but if he does, Columbus is going to have a ridiculously good offense in a few years.

Chistov was great the first year, lifeless the second. I don't know what's up with him but I am not giving up.

Smirnov is not that bad. But he's on the bubble and looks like he will make it only as a support player, if he does at all.

Knyazev is a huge disappointment. And to think this guy was labelled by some as the next Vladimir Konstantinov? For ****'s sake, I think I would put on a jersey on Vlad and put blades under his wheelchair before I dress Knyazev on my team.

I don't follow Yakubov and Vorobiev closely, but a friend told me they follow a rocky progression yet still hold some promise as NHLers. From limited views, my favorite of the two is Vorobiev as far as style.

Out of all of these, Alexeev was my biggest disappointment. I don't remember being as unpleasantly surprised by a CHLer, as usually reports on these kids are pretty accurate. I had the misfortune of not seeing the guy play before the draft and envisioned something totally different.

 

[AgentNaslund*]

Svitov, one goon.

Koltsov is gonna be better then all those guys, except for maybe Chistov.

 

[Birko19]

The list does't impress me that much, I think the 2000 list is not worth that much, the 2001 there's still some hope for Chistov, but for some reason he's not doing too well in the AHL this year, well he's doing OK but nothing to drool over.

Svitov I also still have hope for, I don't understand how he went third overall that year, but I can see him becoming a solid 2-way player like Bobby Holik with a 50-60 point upside, he also has't done anything special at the AHL level, but we'll see I guess.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Svitov I also still have hope for, I don't understand how he went third overall that year,

Rick Dudley.

 

[The Fuhr*]

The Russian everyone should be talking about comes out of the 2002 draft. Second round pick of the Senators Alexei Kaigorodov. The next Igor Larioniv.

 

[Birko19]

Rick Dudley.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Svitov, one goon.

I have honestly never seen a goon with that kind of skills. It's not elite, but you obviously didn't see much of him, if at all. Svitov will not make the NHL as a good, that's for sure.

I envision more guys in the Nazarov vein if I speak of goons. This guy obviously has NHL-level skating. Solid stickhandling. Pretty good mobility for a big man. His defense is already NHL-ready and above average. Has a nice shot. Very solid hockey sense. I've seen him many times both in the NHL and with the Bulldogs.

He's a very safe player, IMO. But his upside is questionable and it seems he doesn't always get in coaches' graces. This year he seems to get the icetime and as of a week ago, was leading Syracuse in scoring.

He could be at worse a role player but not of the goonish variety, IMO. My only problem is whether he'd bring the intensity shift after shift with such limited icetime. Under those circumstances, he might not make the NHL at all and disappear in Russia. But if not, he's going to be a great utility forward at worse and can probably shut down the opposition and score a few. At best (and we're talking great optimism here) he will be a cross between Keith Primeau and Bobby Holik. Which means a player pretty much every NHL team desperately wants (until they get overpaid big time).

 

[Birko19]

The 2000 and 2001 drafts were russian loaded with great potential. A lot of these guys haven`t done squat yet so what do you expect from them?

2000-
M. Yakubov (Chicago)
P. Vorobiev (Chicago)
N. Alexeev (Tampa)
A. Smirnov (Anaheim)

2001-
A. Svitov (Columbus)
S. Chistov (Anaheim)
I. Knyazev (Carolina)

See the 2000 draft was meeeh, but the 2001 was pretty loaded with Russian potential, some of then that you failed to mention have played very well so far, here's the list from 2001 that impressed me so far:

1- Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta) - DUHHHH
2- Alexander Perezhogin (Montreal) - Had a good season last year at the AHL, and this year he's doing decent in the Russian league.
3- Fedor Tjutin (NYR) - Great talent, this kid should be good.
4- Alexander Polushin (TB) - I love this kid, he's doing well in Russia so far.
5- Igor Grigorenko (Detroit) - Before the accident this guy had tones of potential, and still does in my opinion, he's bouncing back as we speak, he scored a goal and an assist in his last game.

And I would't count Chistov out yet, sure he has't been doin well but the kid still has tones of skills and potential to be the second best Russian in this draft behind Kovalchuk.

 

[McDonald19]

Chistov was great the first year, lifeless the second. I don't know what's up with him but I am not giving up.

Smirnov is not that bad. But he's on the bubble and looks like he will make it only as a support player, if he does at all.

Saw them both in Anaheim in December when Cincy came to the Pond to play Edmonton for a two game series.

Chistov scored a high light reel goal where he danced around the defensman and blasted a slapshot past the goalie. He was also willing to play physically and was creating offense most of his shifts. He will be a good creative second liner in the NHL, he just has to overcome consistency issues and gain confidence.

Smirnov looked stronger than I've ever seen him and he dropped the gloves in a line brawl and did very well for himself in the fight. His offensive upside is questionable but as long as he keeps playing physical and making the smart plays he will at least be a good third liner in the NHL.

 

[Epsilon]

One thing I don't get is why people are already writing Svitov off but are still talking about the "breakout potential" of guys like Brad Isbister.

 

[CJHF13]

One thing I don't get is why people are already writing Svitov off but are still talking about the "breakout potential" of guys like Brad Isbister.

Thank you.