Russian playmaking winger with excellent on-ice vision, high-end hands and stick. Was the best player at the World Junior A Challenge. Projects as a high end scorer, but will need to be less generous with the puck on the attack to actually turn into a big time scorer. Is such a good precise passer and his stop/starts are so clean he gains time to diagnose which teammate should receive his pinpoint pass. He has high end dangle and deception skills, and seems to be able to take games over. At very least looks to me a cut above everyone else on the ice sheet. And this isn't a Vladimir Tarasenko; ready and willing to work on the back end, no quit when the tide is running strong against him. He isn't a 100% each shift guy and can sour you by what seems to be disinterest at times. He has got that same Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde you saw in Alexander Semin, so there is lots to consider with this prospect. The real key when selecting Russians who aren't already over in North America is they may not want to make the jump under the rookie salary cap constraints; they can make plenty of money while staying at home and waiting until the teams that draft them are no longer subject to the entry-level contract rules. Sometimes these Russian players slip into the later parts of the selection process unless they plan to come now and stay -- no matter if they make the parent clubs right away.
--Bill Placzek--
