A Russian trend – three forwards headed for the first round?
It has been almost a decade since it happened the last time. To be specific, the year was 2010 and the players were Alexander Burmistrov, Vladimir Tarasenko and Yevgeni Kuznetsov. Before that, it happened in 2004. That time the players involved turned out to be bona fide superstars: Alexander Ovechkin, Yevgeni Malkin and Alexander Radulov. Looking further back, it happened for two straight years in 2000 and 2001.
As some of you may have already guessed, I am talking about the last few times the NHL Entry Draft saw, at least, three Russian forward prospects drafted in the first round. Could 2018 be the year it happens again? Well, a lot depends on how the rest of the season shakes out for one man. That man is Vitali Kravtsov.
For a while there it seemed like Barrie Colts star Andrei Svechnikov was going to give Rasmus Dahlin a serious run for his money when it came to being the 1st overall pick in 2018. A lot could still happen between now and June 22nd, but with Dahlin performing the way he has in the SHL and with Svechnikov injured for quite a while this season – it appears Dahlin will leave “the battle for first” victorious. That said, Svechnikov remains a lock to be selected among the first five players with almost all major scouting publications still considering him the #2 ranked prospect.
Many of those same publications consider Grigori Denisenko of Loko Yaroslavl a lock for the first round as well. After an injury early in the season, Denisenko has come back firing on every cylinder and while many scouts agree that the small, speedy left winger needs to fill out a bit – his skills are unquestionably elite.
Finally, we arrive at Vitali Kravtsov. Not everyone had him on their radar during the 2016-2017 season, but he certainly made people sit up and take notice in February 2017 when he – at 17 years of age – became the youngest player to ever score a goal in the KHL playoffs. The previous record holder? Yevgeni Kuznetsov.
This season, Kravtsov has become a mainstay in the Traktor Chelyabinsk lineup, tallying three goals and three assists in 24 games thus far. Not eye-popping numbers by any stretch but then again, just making a KHL roster at his age is noteworthy. While Kravtsov’s size, skill, shot and skating ability is considered to be of the highest quality, the one thing that could potentially hold him back is his limited hockey sense. Scouts note that he has yet to develop that “sixth sense” for providing his teammates with time and space you find in many of the players that are picked in the first round.
For this reason, the 2018 World Junior Championship presents a terrific opportunity for Kravtsov to silence his critics by putting on a show worthy of the one he did back in February. Making the final roster of Team Russia is by no means a guarantee though. While Russia has named a preliminary WJC roster that does features Kravtsov, team management has yet to add any of the Russian prospects currently playing in the North American junior leagues.
For Kravtsov the battle begins with making the final roster. Should he be successful it is on to Buffalo to put on a show, then deliver a solid second half in the KHL and then maybe – just maybe – his name will be one of the first 31 to be called on June 22nd in Dallas.
