Tremendous talent who also has left Russia to cement the notion that he would be willing to stick around and be signed and assigned to development in North America. Shows signs that he is an emerging dominant player based on his size, balanced skating, speed, power, and puck-handling ability. He is a player who gets the attention of the opposition as they focus on preventing him from getting chances. He moves effortlessly as he goes on the attack. He sees the ice well and generates chances while making room for his linemates. His all-around game and focus are a work in progress, as he can tend to focus only on the offensive side, forgeting the other things that are necessary. He also has be accused of notching down when games are out of reach. He led all first-year players in the league with 85 points and 40 goals, and was second in assists with 45. Not easy to move off the puck, he projects as another high level Russian import who can make an impact in the NHL either on wing or center. He was accused of again disappearing in the World Under-18, and afterward it was announced he was diagnosed with mononucleosis. An interesting parallel is in the 2007 draft, when Logan Couture was still on the board at slot nine, due to the fact he had a lackluster draft year after getting mono and never truly recovered for the entire season. The difference is Couture was never considered an on-ice Jeckyll-Hyde player. No one will argue with the fact that if this young man commits, his upside is huge.
--Bill Placzek--
