Russians in the AHL.

johnnydrum

Registered User
Oct 17, 2006
662
18
United Kingdom
Hello everyone.
Just compiling my own mini guide for this year's AHL (sadly in the UK we lack any publications, so I am "nerding out" researching myself.
Intrested in the Russian players, (forwards) some very notable e prospects, but would be grateful if any users can give me some info, and who would rate where...
We have Svechnikov at Grand Rapids, Abrahmov at Belleville, Sharongovich & Maltsev at Binghampton, Sokolev and Khovanov at Iowa, Kotsin & Toropochenko, and the 3 at SJ, Letunov, Yurtaiken, Kotov....

The stats don't really tell the whole story, so was hoping users here can rank them in quality etc....

It's strange that some players statistics can confuse, especially between the KHL and AHL, players who seem to struggle in the AHL, go on to produce in the KHL (Sharongovic) and vice versa, strong AHL numbers don't translate to KHL (Kostin for instance),
and players such as Sokolev, had more goals in the AHL than most of his countrymen, but seems to be a forgotten prospect?
And how about Svechnikov (Evgeniy) ?
His numbers seemed very very low, is he still a top end project?
Any info will be greatly appreciated!
Stay safe everyone!
 
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adsfan

#164303
May 31, 2008
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Milwaukee
Yakow Trenin split last season between the Milwaukee Admirals and the Nashville Predators. I expect him to be with Nashville full time in the coming hockey season. I heard that he was playing the 3rd or 4th line in the KHL.

I saw Svechnikov of Grand Rapids play a few times. He wasn't that impressive. He can score, but his defense is poor. The Griffins were a distant third in an eight division last season. The team was a -16 in goal differential in 63 games.

This website might help you out with the stats. You can search by player name, by team or by league.

Hockeydb.com - Hockey Statistics and History for the NHL and more!
 
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JMCx4

Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Sep 3, 2017
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St. Louis, MO
Of the players the OP listed, I'm familiar only with Kostin & Toropchenko as they were draft picks by my home NHL team. So I'll refrain from trying to rank the collection, and instead I'll suggest one significant factor that influences measurable "quality" of players who have skated in the AHL & the KHL: rink dimensions.

According to this blog, some KHL arenas have been changing their ice surface dimensions from the Euro/Olympic standard to the North American/NHL-AHL standard (which lengthens while narrowing the total surface, plus changing corner radii & modifying zone lengths). But those KHL arenas retaining the Euro ice dimensions - and the players accustomed to playing on that ice - can present a challenge to competitors used to skating on the NA surfaces. Similar challenges are faced by Euro players moving to North America, so I'm not surprised that AHL-to-KHL offensive statistics & vice versa do not translate easily.
 
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johnnydrum

Registered User
Oct 17, 2006
662
18
United Kingdom
Yakow Trenin split last season between the Milwaukee Admirals and the Nashville Predators. I expect him to be with Nashville full time in the coming hockey season. I heard that he was playing the 3rd or 4th line in the KHL.

I saw Svechnikov of Grand Rapids play a few times. He wasn't that impressive. He can score, but his defense is poor. The Griffins were a distant third in an eight division last season. The team was a -16 in goal differential in 63 games.

This website might help you out with the stats. You can search by player name, by team or by league.

Hockeydb.com - Hockey Statistics and History for the NHL and more!
Thank you so much for this. Already a big help!
Svechnikov also had some bad injuries too.
San Jose are stacked with Russian AHL players, I think I counted 5?
Thank you again, and I welcome, ANY titbits of info on the AHL in general, Best D man, goalie etc...
 

johnnydrum

Registered User
Oct 17, 2006
662
18
United Kingdom
Of the players the OP listed, I'm familiar only with Kostin & Toropchenko as they were draft picks by my home NHL team. So I'll refrain from trying to rank the collection, and instead I'll suggest one significant factor that influences measurable "quality" of players who have skated in the AHL & the KHL: rink dimensions.

According to this blog, some KHL arenas have been changing their ice surface dimensions from the Euro/Olympic standard to the North American/NHL-AHL standard (which lengthens while narrowing the total surface, plus changing corner radii & modifying zone lengths). But those KHL arenas retaining the Euro ice dimensions - and the players accustomed to playing on that ice - can present a challenge to competitors used to skating on the NA surfaces. Similar challenges are faced by Euro players moving to North America, so I'm not surprised that AHL-to-KHL offensive statistics & vice versa do not translate easily.

Thank you so much, and brilliant to hear from you. Kostin is by far my favourite prospect, but I was very very confused by his lack of production in the KHL, where as "lower" prospects such as Toropochenko, have done very well (think he has 6 goals so far?)
Would love to hear ANY more info regarding the Blues AHL prospects.
Thank you again.
 

JMCx4

Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Sep 3, 2017
13,470
8,327
St. Louis, MO
... Would love to hear ANY more info regarding the Blues AHL prospects.

Thank you again.
Current Blues AHL Prospects references:
  • A local blogger from the Bleedin' Blue website staff recently profiled Klim Kostin. Pretty much matches the current sentiment among the Blues fanbase ... St. Louis Blues Top Five Age 25-and-Under Players
  • Toropchenko is profiled in this short-list from The Hockey Writers site ... THW-Blues "Untouchable" Prospects for 2020-21
  • The Blues signed a 5-year affiliation deal with the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds, so that's where most of their AHL-calibre & potential call-ups will play in the coming season (those who don't end up on the NHL taxi squad). The Elite Prospects website contains player profiles for the Thunderbirds 2020-21 roster ... EP - Thunderbirds 2020-21

Beyond that, here are a few North American hockey web pages for reference in case you haven't gotten very far in your research:

While the North American hockey media is awash in web pages & blogs on the topic of amateur prospects, AHL-specific references are harder to find. I've listed some possibilities below, and maybe other HFB members can add to the list. Hockey fans on this side of The Pond are bored, too ...
 

Tao Jersey Jones

Registered User
Sep 28, 2003
16,771
7,655
Plainfield, NJ
Current Blues AHL Prospects references:
  • A local blogger from the Bleedin' Blue website staff recently profiled Klim Kostin. Pretty much matches the current sentiment among the Blues fanbase ... St. Louis Blues Top Five Age 25-and-Under Players
  • Toropchenko is profiled in this short-list from The Hockey Writers site ... THW-Blues "Untouchable" Prospects for 2020-21
  • The Blues signed a 5-year affiliation deal with the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds, so that's where most of their AHL-calibre & potential call-ups will play in the coming season (those who don't end up on the NHL taxi squad). The Elite Prospects website contains player profiles for the Thunderbirds 2020-21 roster ... EP - Thunderbirds 2020-21

Beyond that, here are a few North American hockey web pages for reference in case you haven't gotten very far in your research:

While the North American hockey media is awash in web pages & blogs on the topic of amateur prospects, AHL-specific references are harder to find. I've listed some possibilities below, and maybe other HFB members can add to the list. Hockey fans on this side of The Pond are bored, too ...

Chirps from Center Ice is run by a WBS Penguins fan and covers the AHL.

Looks like Inside the AHL is down. It's hosted by a Lehigh Valley Phantoms fan.
 

LadyStanley

Registered User
Sep 22, 2004
105,742
18,865
Sin City
Thank you so much for this. Already a big help!
Svechnikov also had some bad injuries too.
San Jose are stacked with Russian AHL players, I think I counted 5?
Thank you again, and I welcome, ANY titbits of info on the AHL in general, Best D man, goalie etc...

Letunov, Yurtaykin, Chekhovich (currently in KHL; I believe he's loaned for the full season), Knyzhov
Plus potentially: Kotkov, Melnichuk
 
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ek93

Registered User
Dec 28, 2014
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New York
Sharangovich and Maltsev both came alive toward the end of the season last year in Binghamton. Both highly skilled forwards who would’ve broken out this year in the AHL in my opinion.

Maltsev is a big kid, who is strong on the puck, has great hands, and skates reasonably well. His decision making wasn’t great to start the season last year, but that started to come around in the second half, and I’m sure it’ll continue as he gets more pro games under his belt.

He also pulled this move off twice in shootouts last year:



Sharangovich was incredibly reliable last year, and broke out in the KHL this year. Not as big as Maltsev, but still fairly big, and uses his size well. Great passer and shooter, and a good skater. Started piling up points when he was moved into our top-6 towards the end of last year.
 
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johnnydrum

Registered User
Oct 17, 2006
662
18
United Kingdom
Fantastic!
Been following Sharongovich s progress in the KHL... He has an amazing start.. Who is the better of the two, Maltsev or Ygor?
Thank you so much... And Merry Christmas.
 

johnnydrum

Registered User
Oct 17, 2006
662
18
United Kingdom
Enjoyed watching the Barracuda clips. Letunov looks impressive...
I surprised at Yutarkins low numbers though... perhaps they be better now he has had a chance to acclimatise to N/A?
 

LadyStanley

Registered User
Sep 22, 2004
105,742
18,865
Sin City
Enjoyed watching the Barracuda clips. Letunov looks impressive...
I surprised at Yutarkins low numbers though... perhaps they be better now he has had a chance to acclimatise to N/A?

Not gonna happen. Sharks put Danil Yurtaikin on unconditional waivers today for contract termination.
 
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JMCx4

Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Sep 3, 2017
13,470
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St. Louis, MO
Thank you so muc , I am a huge fan of Kostin, and that article was superb.
Has Toroprchenko passed him in the rankings?
The consensus still seems to favour Kostin over Toropchenko in the foreseeable future, largely based on 2019-20 AHL production from each of them. And I'm sure Kostin's end-to-end play vs. Nashville turned some heads ...



My wife & I saw Alexei play in person with his OHL Guelph Storm team for a couple of games during the 2019 CHL Memorial Cup in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My fan impressions were: Deceptive acceleration for a large young man (6-foot-3, 187 pounds per Elite Prospects); able to use his size well as leverage against defenders; but not consistent in using either advantage from shift to shift. Hopefully the latter was reflective of his youth at the time, and his time with Red Star will help him develop more consistent play.
 
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JMCx4

Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Sep 3, 2017
13,470
8,327
St. Louis, MO
Klim Kostin is conspiculously absent from the St. Louis Blues' 40-man training camp roster. Not clear yet whether that's an omission of choice (the team or the player) or an omission due to circumstances with his current assignment. But it doesn't seem to bode well for his future within the Blues organization.
 

vorky

@vorkywh24
Jan 23, 2010
11,404
1,269
Klim Kostin is conspiculously absent from the St. Louis Blues' 40-man training camp roster. Not clear yet whether that's an omission of choice (the team or the player) or an omission due to circumstances with his current assignment. But it doesn't seem to bode well for his future within the Blues organization.
Over 11 minutes against KRS Beijing on Dec 30, next game on Jan 3 in Minsk. Guessing he is now celebrating the New Year.
 

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