Roman Shokhrin

Big Russian offensive defender whose main asset is his ability to move deep in the attack with the puck on his stick. Quickly finds open space and fills it, so doesn’t need to use stickhandling to get there.  Has really good offensive instincts and creativity when he has the puck. The negative is his reflexes are too slow, and his stick handling and puck receiving are awkward, and his reflexes too slow. Also needs to work on his skating techniques and balance as it seems like that without his stick he would be totally unstable. Also needs to work on his defensive play, specifically his gap control as he doesn’t feel or gauge his movement to close and often simply takes the wrong position in attempting to close. He is an excellent shot blocker, giving up his body with good timing. He clearly is a long term developmental project because he does have some talent and is very large. When selecting a Russian, there are no strings attached that say you can keep him for a limited time in development, but then must roster him or fear losing him. So whether he stays in his homeland and develops there, the team can always revisit bringing him over to sign when all the signs point to it, simply chuck the selection as try, and see it as just simply a late round pick gone bad (as so many are).

                                               --Bill Płaczek==