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stormTRacker Podcast
Hurricanes' Russian Prospects: Overcoming Barriers to Dominate the NHL
Are the Carolina Hurricanes rewriting the playbook on drafting Russian talent? Discover why this NHL team is doubling down on Russian prospects despite geopolitical tensions that have deterred others. With insights from Erin Manning and Katie Bartlett, we promise you’ll gain an understanding of the Hurricanes' bold strategy, spearheaded by scout Oleg Smirnov, to unearth undervalued gems like Andrei Svechnikov and 15 other Russians over the last three years. Learn how this unconventional approach could shape the future of the Canes and redefine their standing in the league.
Meet Alexander Nikishin, the young defenseman whose meteoric rise in the KHL has hockey aficionados buzzing. We'll share his astonishing journey from an overlooked third-round draft pick to a standout player with skills reminiscent of Cale Makar. Get a personal peek into Nikishin’s athletic lineage and the anticipation swirling around his NHL debut. His imposing physical presence and game-changing abilities make him a promising asset for the Hurricanes, a narrative you won’t want to miss.
Transitioning to North American ice poses unique challenges for Russian players, but the Hurricanes' supportive environment has eased the way for talents like Gleb Trikozov and goalie Ruslan Khazheyev. Learn about Trikozov’s strategic play style, his personal milestones, and the community that’s preparing him for success. Khazheyev's journey, complete with his distinctive personality and pre-game rituals, adds an exciting dimension to the Canes' prospect pool. Plus, updates on other promising players like Nikita Artamonov and Alexander Rykov will give you a comprehensive look at the future roster. Don’t miss this episode—it's packed with insights that could change the way you view the Hurricanes' drafting strategy.
The Russians are coming. The Russians are coming. The Russians are coming.
Speaker 2:For sure. When it comes to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Russians are coming. In a recent StormTracker episode with Nick Bass of Canes Prospects, we discussed the 2024 draft for the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes drafted no less than six players from Russia this year, continuing a trend of recent years to draft many Russians. This has been surprising a lot of folks and got them scratching their heads. Why are the Canes doing this? What do they know that other teams don't know? Why are the Canes doing this? What do they know that other teams don't know? You know for sure, the world situation has led many other teams to move away from drafting Russians, yet the Canes seem to be drafting more each year. If we take a look back, we might get an idea of what's been going on with this. In 2018, the Canes drafted their first Russian in a long, long time. In fact, they were fortunate enough to move up with the draft lottery to the second pick overall and choose Andrei Svechnikov Svechnikov, of course, a key player of the Canes today and for the future.
Speaker 2:In 2019, the Canes made a major move. They hired Uber scout Igor Smirnoff to handle Russian duties. Igor had been a player agent looking at a lot of the young players in Russia previous four years and was a perfect choice to take the position. It didn't take long for Igor to make his mark In the 2019 draft. The Canes selected in the second round goaltender Piotr Kocekka and Kucci is really a key part of the future as well for the Canes. It continued in the following drafts and has culminated in the last three years with 15 Russian players being selected.
Speaker 2:If we look back in, 20, of course, one of the big picks for the Canes was Alexander Nikitin, who's expected to join the Canes, if not the end of this year, next year, and that's going to be a big add for the Canes. And they continued with several of their top prospects. There is a constant theme with these players. The Canes have been fortunate to pick up players much later in the draft than they might have normally been able to do because they're coming from Russia. I wanted to take a deep look into this to try to understand the Canes' thinking, what it might mean to the Canes and who some of the key players are we can look forward to in the months and years ahead. And joining me to discuss this StormTracker Insiders Erin Manning and Katie Bartlett. Well delighted to welcome back Erin Manning and Katie Bartlett Ladies welcome.
Speaker 1:Hey, it's good to be back. Looking forward to talking to some Russian hockey players today.
Speaker 3:Good to see you both. We we got a lot to talk about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and as you mentioned, Katie, today we're going to talk about Carolina Hurricanes prospects, with a particular focus on the Russia side. Of course, the Canes have made significant moves in recent years. Actually, in the last three years they've drafted 15 Russian players, which is quite substantial, and in fact this year they did it with six, and in a recent piece that I did with Nick Bass, we went through some of those players and some very exciting talents that are coming to the Hurricanes. A lot of folks are wondering why are the Cades doing this? Why are they drafting so many Russians?
Speaker 2:You know, with the world situation as it is, other teams definitely moving away from that. In fact, the Canes for a long time themselves did not draft Russians, but they've made the decision that this is a key part of what they're going to do and of course, they do have a Russian scout, oleg Smirnov, who's a part of this. But you know, aaron, you had put together, I think, a very nice piece on this, which is available on my website now at stormtracker23.com, which really talks about some of these questions Like why are they drafting these Russians, what does it mean, what should we expect in the future, and so on. Can you kick this off?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, I think all teams are looking for value, especially in the lower rounds, and the Canes, because of their great success in making the playoffs every year for the last six years, are not drafting a high first round draft pick or someone that's, you know, a surefire hit every year, like some teams are drafting more of those or they have them coming in more frequently.
Speaker 3:So for the Canes, I think it makes a lot of sense to look at where what players might be undervalued, and there's lots of different approaches to that.
Speaker 3:Some teams go exclusively for positions, they look for goalies, particularly in the later rounds. Some teams are looking at over-aged players, you know, because there's always a few of those in the later rounds. But for the Canes, what they've noticed is that Russian prospects who really should go in the second or third round are falling to the third, the fourth, the fifth, you know, beyond. And some of that is because of the political situation you know, not being sure if players will be able to come over. Some of it is also because you know that they're going to be in Russia for at least a couple of years, even if they do come over, and some teams would rather control development. So it's pretty interesting to see on that value and say, you know, we're going to be the ones to take those players, because we're really getting somebody who might have been a mid-second round draft pick all the way down here in the fourth round. So it's kind of a good gamble to take.
Speaker 2:Well, for sure, and you know, you look at some of these players, and we're going to talk about some of them who were selected later on. One of the questions that folks asked, though, though, is should there be a concern with them actually coming to north america? I think that's one of the biggest questions that folks ask and trying to determine is you know, are the canes taking, you know, draft picks and possibly could lose them because they can't bring the players over or whatever? How do you feel about that?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm not really, I'm sorry, go ahead. I was just saying, I think, because the Canes have such a deep organizational depth that they're in a good position to take that risk. That it's. You know. There's this saying no risk, no reward. So if they, if they go ahead and take that risk with a player that if they were in North America would have gone higher, then you know they're willing to be patient. There's not that urgency that a lot of other organizations have with bringing their players along. The Canes have the time and the space to exercise patience, to exercise patience and hopefully those picks will result in some rewards with some players that will turn into very valuable members of the Hurricanes in the future.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. And one of the interesting things, if you look at the way that the organizations are structured in Russia and you're right on Katie they basically will pick the players up as young teens and they will stay in the same organization right through, you know, like midget to junior, to the professional ranks in what would be like the AHL, and then coming into the big club in the KHL, and this is a little bit different than North America, of course. I mean, we have the draft and it's a completely different system. At one time it was like that In fact, back in the day you did have teams that had a junior team. They would have this was in the original six they would have a junior team, an AHL team and their own parent team, the NHL team. So it makes it a lot easier.
Speaker 2:And if you look at the players that are currently kind of grooming for the Hurricanes, they've gone through that. They've gone through mostly through the NHL, which is like junior, here, the VHL, which is like the AHL, and it's a big club. So we can see, as we talk about some of the players we're going to talk about and highlight today, we can definitely see that as a very clear delineation as to how they handle players in Russia versus North America, of course. Yeah, speaking about that, I mean I think clearly Kane's exactly right. They've got lots of prospects. Some of these folks turn out to be nuggets that you know can ultimately come over to North America. That's great. If they don't, they've still got a bunch of folks that are being groomed, both in Russia and around the world, to be prospects for the Kings.
Speaker 1:So it's a great exciting story for sure.
Speaker 2:Let's talk a little bit about some of the players. There are some outstanding talents that are just around the corner, I think, and also will be a little bit later on, but I think our players, the folks, might want to know a little bit more about today. Kicking it off, of course, we've got to talk about Alexander Nikitian. He is the person that gets the most notice. Nikitian was drafted, as it turns out, in 2020. He was drafted 69th, which is in the third round, which is hard to believe. Now, apparently and this is according to Oleg Smirnov he expected he would go in the top 10.
Speaker 2:But, as we've heard and learned, there is a bit of a health situation with Nikitian, which apparently some teams, or a lot of teams, decided was something they didn't want to mess with, so the Canes were required. He's obviously grown significantly, both in size and stature, since the draft. When he was drafted, darren York said this for an 18-year-old going against men and probably in the best league outside the NHL, he's able to hold his own. So, again, they were really impressed with the fact that at 18, when they drafted him, he was playing with men in the KHL and really, you know, starting to come along and starting to show clearly how strong defensively he is and then starting to show a little bit on the offensive side as well. Last year, he just destroyed the KHL. As you know, with SKA he had 17 goals and 39 assists for 56 points. This is a defenseman, I mean, he's really something. He's 6'4", he's 216, he's a monster. What do we know about Alexander Nikitian?
Speaker 3:So, like you said, he was drafted 69th overall and that was, you know, considerably lower than a lot of scouts expected him to go. I did see a scouting report and this is funny. I'm not going to say who it was, but from the early, you know, when he was just coming into the draft, there was a scout that was convinced that Nikitian would be, you know, a nice medium level second pair, maybe your fourth D or maybe even a really good third pair guy, you know, because he was all defense and he didn't have any offense at all and just didn't see that happening. And I thought, you know that's so funny, because when you're, when they're 18 and they're playing defense, it's funny to decide they're never going to be able to get the offensive side of their game going. But I think he's going to fit really well with the Canes' young core. In terms of age, he's four months older than Seth Jarvis, so when he comes over he's going to be right there.
Speaker 3:Right now people think his floor is a top second pair and that he's really projecting to be a first pair defenseman, which is amazing to pick up in the third round of the draft. And there's one or two scouts out there that are saying, if he's eligible for the Calder which I know that gets tricky, but I believe he will be that they see him as a Calder winner and possibly a Norris Trophy winner too. So you know, future Norris Trophy winner too. So they're seeing him as a star defenseman. It's not just seeing him as a really good first-pairing defenseman. They're seeing Nikitian as a future star, and so that's going to be a huge impact for the team. And and they're seeing Nikitian as a future star and so that's going to be a huge impact for the team. And I know, katie, you had some thoughts about what that would mean in terms of an.
Speaker 1:NHL comparable that you've made. Well, it's not a perfect comparable, but the anticipation for Nikitian's arrival reminds me a lot of the anticipation that the Colorado Avalanche team and fans had for the arrival of Kale McCarr. They already had a really good team in place. Mckinnon was already part of the team, landeskog was there, rantanen was there, but it was the arrival of Makar that really put the abs in that next level, and so I wouldn't be surprised if Nikishan comes in and is that next level player that really helps the Canes fulfill their potential and the players they've currently got, like Jarvis and Ajo and Svetch, and give them that energy and that push from the blue line to help make them not just a Stanley Cup contender but eventually a Stanley Cup champion. So that's really where I'm kind of excited to see what Nikitian can bring, because a lot of the energy around him reminds me of that energy that was around Makar when he came and he joined up with the Avs.
Speaker 2:Well, when we look at Nikitian, what is it that he does that makes him so exciting? I mean, why are folks so excited about Nikitian?
Speaker 3:Well, some of it is the offense, for sure, and I know you probably have all those numbers in front of you but just, he's been the top scoring KHL defenseman two years in a row, and he's 22 years old. So that's insane, you know when you think about that. But his defensive game is incredibly fun to watch too. His nickname, boom comes from both his incredible one-timers and slap shot. I found out that his one-timer is considered a lethal threat too, and then his habit of throwing these incredibly beautiful hip checks. You know we've seen some of that from Orlov. But when you see Nikitian with his speed and the edge work and then coming in on a target, you're just bracing yourself. You know along in sympathy with the guy that's about to get taken down, because he's just amazing at that. So and again for such a young player to be capable of that kind of physicality on the ice against grown men. You know he's not going to have any trouble adjusting to the pace of an NHL whatsoever, so that's part of where the excitement comes from too, I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think if you look at Nikishan he's kind of old school in that regard. I mean, there's not a lot of the players that still do that open ice, hit and, just you know, send the opposing player in the next week. Like it's incredible, it's good fun. Now, what about Nikitian as a person? Now, I did see a piece that had been put out on X by Anya, where there was an interview with Nikitian and there were some interesting things said about Nikitian, or by him, in that interview. What can you tell us about Nikitian as a person, katie?
Speaker 1:Well, he comes from a very athletic family. His dad was a boxer as well as played hockey, his mom was a gymnast, his uncle played for the national team in basketball and his girlfriend is a synchronized swimmer. So they've got athletic genes up and down that family tree. And when he's not on the ice, he's outside. He's being very active. His favorite activities are, um more of the mountain type activities skiing, snowboarding, that sort of thing, um, and apparently he got inspiration from Koozie for his goal celebration. But he called it a combination of the eagle and the gorilla because he thought that the face of the eagle was a little too soft and so he wanted something a little more intense and enthusiastic to put into the goal celebration. So it's an eagle-gorilla combination. But just because he's very, very active in hockey and in other activities, don't think that he's a slouch. He also is a really good chess player and loves to play chess. So he has a mind to match with that physicality that he brings with him on the ice.
Speaker 2:Well, that's really interesting.
Speaker 1:In fact, I found a really cool quote from him, from that article that Anya provided, and he says as long as a man believes in himself, he is stronger than his destiny.
Speaker 2:Wow, Sounds like a wise man. Well, that's great stuff, katie. And you know I'm not sure about the scheme close to Raleigh. There's a little bit out there but it might not be what he's used to. But he sounds like a real character and that's going to fit quite nicely with some of the other young players on the Hurricanes, of course. So it sounds like Nikitian is going to be a real nice add for the Hurricanes in more ways than one. If Canes fans haven't seen the pictures.
Speaker 1:Yet make sure you go out and look at that charity event that happened between the NHL players and the KHL players, because Nikitin played in that and he was a big part in that, as well as our current Canes Russian hockey players in Kochakov or Lavin, svechnikov. And at the end of the game there were a whole bunch of pictures being taken and Svechnikov, piquet and Orly got together for a picture and Akeeshan kind of skated up in behind them trying to photobomb and they caught him and said, no, no, you're a hurricane, come in photo bomb. And they caught him and said, no, nope, you're a hurricane, come in here, get in the picture, get included. And he was just grinning from ear to ear, thrilled to be included. So you can just tell he's got a great personality. He seems excited, he sees himself as part of the hurricanes.
Speaker 1:Um, russian players already and uh, there's, there's a lot of great content out there. Uh, go to anya's page. She's put a bunch of videos and interviews up from that and translated them into English with the captions. So that looked like that was a really cool experience and you can get a lot of the feeling for Nikitian's hockey from the game, as well as his personality from all of the post-game stuff that was going on.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, that's really incredible stuff, because one of the things that Nikitian had said in that previous interview, if you might recall, is that he really hadn't connected with any of the Hurricanes and he was hoping to do so, and it turns out that this media tournament, which you just mentioned, was fantastic because he got to spend some time with some other kings and apparently now has started to communicate quite significantly with, uh, andrej special cough. So, um, this is all really great news, and everything that we're looking for here, of course, is that, uh, the transition for alexander is one that goes smoothly, because on the ice he's's just incredible. So yeah, so that's a pretty good start. On the Russia contingent, let's move on to a forward who I really like a lot, and that's Gleb Trikazov.
Speaker 2:Here's what Darian York said about Gleb when they drafted him he's an incredibly high-end offensive player and really young, so he was drafted. I think he was 17, and he was a younger guy. He really has all the tools. This is again Darren York, last year with Omsky in the NHL, so he actually played in all three leagues. Last year.
Speaker 2:He played a little bit in the KHL and he played some in the VHL, but in his 10 games, regular season games in the NHL, which is like junior and that would be as an 18-turning 19-year-old. He had 12 goals in 10 games. So I mean he literally barred up. And then in the playoffs, in seven games he had four goals and five assists for nine points. So again, he was drafted 60th a couple of years ago, 6'1", 192 pounds. So he's a solid guy. He's going to be a right shot left winger. This guy is all about offense, as we found out with a lot of what we've seen and what we hear with Trikazov One of the exciting things, of course, with Gleb, he's coming over to North America, so what?
Speaker 3:do we know about Gleb Trikazov? Well, one of the things I found interesting and this is for a lot of the Russian wingers is that you know he shoots right but he plays left wing, and I've noticed that that was true for several of the players that we looked at. They play on the opposite side of where they shoot. So that's really interesting because that maximizes a lot of their scoring potential, and I think that that's an interesting way to approach it to just get them used to playing on their off wing right from the beginning and have them do that. So apparently that seems to be a thing.
Speaker 3:I know that one of the things that a scout said in his year that he was drafted was that he reminded him in his he had this problem-solving in transition ability that reminded him of Matty Beneers. So I thought that was interesting. Yes, because his transition game is really good. He's incredibly fast and you know he's got that ability to try to skate through several defenders, which doesn't always go well, but he does have the ability to look ahead and say, well, how could I get through this knot of people? He's trying to solve that problem all the time. He's not just rushing through and trying to make it happen by sheer force. That's an interesting thing that might improve as he's going along in Chicago.
Speaker 3:He turns 20 on august 12th, but he's already married, so that was an interesting thing. He got married this summer, um and uh. His wife is a professional sports journalist and tv host, so to put her information out there on instagram, as well as glenn trrotter. So it's going to be interesting to see this young couple come to North America and I can't wait to get started in Chicago.
Speaker 1:One of the things that I thought was really cool in the short articles I read about him is the fact that he expressed how much he really appreciated all of this support he's gotten from the Carolina Hurricanes organization already whether it's direct contact with the front office or through the scouts, through their representatives, wants him to be a part of the team and he just feels like because of that support he is ready to come over to North America.
Speaker 2:So I found that particularly encouraging. Well, for sure, and you know, with all of these players, one of the key elements is how can you bring them to North America and they can be assimilated in a fashion that is, you know, is rather seamless. And you know, we look at some of the other players that have come over, and that's an interesting kind of segue into something that I wanted to talk about. If we look back to Andrei Sveshnikov, he came over and actually played in junior for a year. He played in Verity, my hometown, interestingly enough, and so he was, you know, he had an opportunity to kind of, you know, start to learn the language, start to understand the culture a little bit better and to do it in a fashion that wasn't demanding at the NHL level. And then the same thing with Piotr Kociakoff. Again, he went down to Chicago and had a chance to kind of get his feet wet before you know.
Speaker 2:He was thrown into the fire, so to speak, with the hurricanes. So I think one of the key things the Canes have really worked on and really been trying to do is for these Russian players to find a way to bring them over and again, help them learn the language, help them to become, you know, very attuned to the way things are done here, the way the team works and so on. And certainly the opportunity that he had to go to the development camp was great, right. So he had a chance to actually learn what it's like to be a Hurricane, play some games, meet some other players I mean all of the above. And I fully expect he'll probably be at the Canes camp, certainly in the fall. So there's going to be one of the prospect showcases. He'll definitely play there and then he might just head towards the Canes camp and mostly to learn what it's like to be a hurricane. So I think, again, this is excellent stuff for these guys. The fact that he's married now and he's really starting to see his life kind of come together nicely, and I'm sure his wife will be with him, that's kind of exciting stuff for the Turkazov. Okay, so now I wanted to start talking about goalies for a minute and, of course, ruslan Kozayev is also coming to North America this year. Kozayev is an interesting one. Now he was. He was drafted 158th in 2023. So in the fifth round and this really plays into something.
Speaker 2:I think you said, aaron, that I mean these players were dropping. I mean something incredible. Kozayev is a player that the Canes really value highly. He's a guy that we've talked about him before. He's a big man. He comes in at 6'4" and he's over 200 pounds. So he's a large goalie and you know he's played well where he's played. But again, in Russia there's a lot of good goaltenders, tons of them and in recent years, of course, we've seen the move of Russian goalies into the NHL, really kind of taking their position, you know, with a lot of key goalies now from Russia on teams that are competing for cups. So we know that this is a very solid training ground for goalies, and Kuzayev, I think, is one of them.
Speaker 2:He played in the NHL last year, which is like junior. In 28 games he was 16-5-5, with a 2-1-6 goals against average not bad and a 9-2-7 save percentage. So this guy's numbers were outstanding. One thing that Darren York said about him. He said Ruslan Kozayev is the first goalie that we took and he's incredibly powerful. So this was in the draft in 23. So they really liked him. They think he's a big man that can really move. So he's a guy that I think has a lot of potential for the Hurricanes. Thoughts on Ruslan Kozayev.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm mostly going to defer to Katie because of her knowledge of goalies, but I did want to say one thing, just really quickly, when I was looking at some things yesterday. There's a scout well, not really a scout, just an analyst who posts a lot of things on X I'm not going to say which one it was, because you know it was a funny comment. He posted Yurka Chekhov's current levels and posted Uzayev's prospect you know comparisons and and said how do the Canes keep doing this? Someone needs to stop them. I thought that was really interesting, that he was already seeing some similarities in the progression from Kazaev's pre-draft levels to where Kuchetkov was pre-draft and seeing him as a very similar type of goalie in terms of maybe not style or whatever, but in terms of where he's projected to end up. So you could end up with two young Russian goalies of whom are at a really strong level, and that would be fantastic, but over to you.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, it's exactly what you said. Everything that I have seen about Kozayev says he's basically Kozayev style goalie. He's very athletic, willing to challenge the players. The biggest difference is he's a few inches taller than Kozayev, so you know that means he takes up more of the net, but also sometimes those taller goalies can be a little bit more gangly, especially as they're developing. So we'll see how that works for him. I'm very, very excited to see how he does in Chicago. It'll be a lot easier to follow him with him already over here and playing minutes, probably with Martin. I would imagine that would be the goalie tandem to start the season in Chicago. It's just my educated guess.
Speaker 1:Funny thing is is that Kazaev did not start originally as a goalie. His team, he played, as he said, in the field with the rest of the players, but then his team ended up without a goalie and no one wanted to play goalie and he finally gave in and said okay, fine, I'll do it. And the rest has been history. He says you know, a lot of goalies have the reputation of being kind of weird or special or a little different than another typical hockey player, and he says that's not him, he's in the. He's in the locker room, he's joking with the guys, he's talking. He's talking with him. He's hanging out, he's playing video games or watching TV shows. He says he's not that type of goalie. He doesn't get too caught up in his own head when he is playing, he just goes out there and tries to do the best he possibly can.
Speaker 1:I found it really interesting. His favorite music to get him just to listen to or to get him pumped up for a game is 90s music. He really likes music from the 90s, but other than that music, he loves the Rocky soundtrack from the Rocky movies. So he feels like he can just when he listens to that music. He feels like he's ready to be a superhero, to be the one that brings it home for his team and to be the champion. He feels like that Rocky soundtrack gets him in that kind of personal mindset. So he sounds like he has plenty of personality, just like Coach Chekhov does in spades, and he's ready to bring it not just to the rink but also to the team. Overall. In general, very fun guy.
Speaker 2:Well, it's interesting you mention that because Oleg Smirnov had mentioned in one of his articles that Ruslan Guzaev, pyotr Kochenkov and Igor Velmakin, the three young goaltenders from Russia. He said those guys, they can get the team going with our emotions, so they're all kind of like that. They've got great personalities. We did hear from Nick Bass that he had spent a fair bit of time with Velmakin at the Prospect Showcase and the development camp and he basically said this guy's a great guy too. So lots of fun with these guys, and I think that's another key piece for the Hurricanes. They definitely want players that have a personality to go with their skill. Okay, let's go on to the next player, which will be let's go to Nikita Artamonov. Artamonov, of course, was drafted this year and he's a player that arguably, was expected to go much higher than the Canes drafted him at 50th overall, which was a bit of a surprise because as I watched the draft, I was very keen on Artamonov. I liked him a lot and basically he just kept slipping. And then all of a sudden, it was the Canes' turn in the second round at 50. And they, you know, they selected Artamonov, which is great Young player, very young player going into the KHL.
Speaker 2:He's 5'11", 187. Again, he shoots left but plays both wings in this case, so he can play left or right wing, so he's very flexible With Torpedo. Last year in the KHL he had seven goals, 16 assists, 23 points in 54 games. So he's a guy that I mean as a very young player seeing a significant role in the KHL, which is very rare, and I think we've got some more information on that as well. Darren York said he's playing in a very good league and it's very challenging to produce the way he did. You have this incredibly energy-driven player who can play a bunch of different styles, so he can play any way you want to play, and a lot of folks see him as a middle six or even higher. What do we know about Nikita Arnavour?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, one of the this is not like a serious, comparable kind of thing, but this was one of those things that kind of caught my eye there were some scouts who were saying, you know, they were pointing out that his level of scoring is like some of these very talented scorers in the NHL when they were at his level, you know, back when they were also 18 and playing in these leagues. They mentioned Vladimir Tarasenko, they mentioned Alex Ovechkin and they mentioned even the current Flyers prospect, matvei Michkov. So you know, that's a really high ceiling for him to potentially get to. When you look at the description from the scouts of what you know they think his floor might be I'm hearing Jordan Martinuk because he's got a high-energy player. He's described as the coach's favorite because he will always do things the right way, you know. So it's kind of funny to think of a player that has a range from Jordan Martin to Vladimir Tarasenko. But you know, we don't really know how he'll pan out. Certainly he has some of that high-end offensive potential though, because, like you said, he was not expected to fall all the way to 50.
Speaker 3:There were a lot of scouts that were extremely surprised that he made it below like 35,. You know they thought scouts were extremely surprised that he made it below like 35. You know they thought that might be the lowest he would go. So that was really interesting to see. Um and uh, he does have two more years on his current contract, so he's not a player we're going to see immediately. Um, but he is only 18. He doesn't turn 19 until november, so he's a very young player, um, so that's, uh, that's most of what, the most of the factual stuff I have, and I think, katie, you had a couple of things.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm just very impressed with him in a lot of different ways. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders. One of the things that's very impressive is the fact that he was actually traded to Torpedo when he was 16, and he moved to join the team on his own. His parents stayed behind in their hometown and so he was by himself. I'm sure they put him up in some sort of team housing or something like that, with support around him, but that is a big step. It takes a lot of maturity at the age of 16 to do that. And then he joined Torpedo pretty quickly and he got his first KHL goal at the age of 17, before he even turned 18, and set a high bar with the points that he got. I think he's now sixth in the record book for the KHL for points scored by a player 18 or younger, and he did set an actual record in the KHL for scoring four points, two goals, two assists in a game that had not been done by an 18 or under player, I believe. And if you see a picture, there's a picture of him floating around out there where he's wearing this helmet on his head and smiling with the team goalie after that game and that's kind of like a Knights of the Round Table sort of helmet and it's for the warrior, the strong man of the game. I wore that whenever something impressive happened and he got it after that game because it was such a great game and he was very, very successful with that particular play.
Speaker 1:Another thing I found interesting about him is he originally was a defenseman. When he started playing, when he was younger, he played as a defenseman and they had to switch him to offense because every time he got the puck he would just skate the puck straight up the ice past everybody else and go and try to score. And so his team and his coaches figured well, if you're going to keep trying to score every time you get the puck, maybe you need to be a forward and not a defenseman. And so that's how he ended up becoming a winger. It is because he just liked to try to score and he wasn't going to stay back in the in the defensive zone and clear the puck. He was going to take it himself and go towards the net. So he he has plenty to to recommend him for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, stephen Ellis of Daily Faceoff said something that I think is particularly relevant to Artemanov. He said he's quickly become one of my favorite wingers due to his high-end hockey IQ. And you know the Hurricanes love this. They love players that have hockey IQs that are high, and clearly that's where Artemanov sits. Now, you might recall that Nick Bass had a comparable and he said he's very much like Michael Bunting, so he's a guy that's a pest. He's in your face, he's trying to make things happen and, of course, he brings along a wonderful skill set as well.
Speaker 2:Back to the draft situation and the mock drafts that I saw. There was actually one gentleman who put a compilation together and he took like 20 mock drafts and came up with a final mock draft and interestingly enough, in that mock draft, uh, artemanov was number 27, so he would have been the selection of the hurricanes if we had, you know, kept their first uh, uh, you know, uh, first round pick and not traded it off as they did. But it turns out they get them anyway and they got Bidinka along with it. So that's not bad. All kind of good stuff. Well, yeah, clearly high-end hockey IQ is a key thing with him and it also is something that is very similar with this next player we're going to talk about and that's Alexander Rykov. Alexander Rykov is a guy that's very highly rated.
Speaker 2:Now. He's suffered some injury problems in his career that held him back. Definitely a guy that you know has high-end skill. He's got a great hockey IQ, he can skate, he's a smart player, he's a great playmaker. He does it all.
Speaker 2:Darren York said a benefit for us when they draft him is that he missed some time last year, but he's one of the highest scoring all time VHL players as an 18 year old. So he was. They basically said look, this guy's a heck of a player. He's not on the radar of other teams. So they could draft him at 100 in the fourth round, actually in 23. So they got him late and the only reason was is because he had suffered through some injuries. Now last year he did play in the KHL with Charlie Abinks, played 26 games, had six goals to assist. So again he's just turned 19. He's 5'11", 170 pounds. He shoots left and plays right. Wing. Back to what you said, aaron, he's another one of these off-shot wingers. This guy is a wonderful, wonderful talent and I think again flew under the radar A lot of folks really liked him when he was drafted. What do we know about Alexander Rekob?
Speaker 3:Well, like you said, you know he's got a lot to offer, especially. I mean, the terms that kept coming up were two-way player, strong forechecker, strong defensively. So anytime you have a player who's 17, 18 years old and these are the assessments that stands out, because most young players are not naturally strong on defense. So, especially if they're playing occasionally with their players, he was doing so. Having a strong defensive winger, strong four checker, is a really good thing, and then his offense is coming along too. So he looks like somebody who has a lot of runway and you know he's got a lot of time to get there because he's going to be. It's going to be a while before he probably makes the NHL.
Speaker 3:I liked there was a writer for a scouting agency that compared his skating to Matt Barzell, so I thought that was interesting from the Islanders. I don't know, I haven't watched enough, I think, to be able to say, oh yes, that's definite. But you know, it seems like that would be an interesting compromise because we all know how talented he is and that would be a wonderful thing for the Canes if they picked up a player around 100 that had some of that in his game. But I liked this one. This little comment from a different scouting agency. They said he's a cannonball on the ice and he's terrifying on the forecheck. And I like terrifying on the forecheck. I thought this is a Rod Vrindamore player. Anybody who can be described as an 18 year old, as terrifying on the forecheck, is going to be somebody that I think Rod Vrindamore is going to like a lot well, you mentioned some things I think Brendan Moore is going to like a lot.
Speaker 2:Well, you mentioned some things I think are interesting. So again, hockey IQ very high. He's a solid 200-foot player. He's a, as you say, he likes to forecheck and make things happen and he has some really strong offensive capabilities. Of course, the big challenge with Rekov at this point is, of course, to remain healthy. And number two, he's got to bulk up a little bit. He's kind of a slight player and this will give him a chance to do that.
Speaker 1:Katie, what do you know about Rekov Just based on what you guys said? Think about what Aaron said about him being terrifying and he needs to bulk up. What is he going to do if he bulks up and still brings that same attitude and skill set to his game? That could be fantastic for the Canes. That's exciting. Especially give him a year or two in Chicago to learn the system. And he's a tailor-made Rod Brindamore, caroline Hurricanes player.
Speaker 1:For sure he has been playing hockey longer than most kids do. He started all the way at three. He was skating and playing hockey at three. Most of the players where I saw their history they started playing at four or five, something like that. But he was playing hockey at the age of three and you can usually figure out where he is on the ice because he is very committed to wearing neck protection. So he has the big neck protector on. Even the rest of the players will wear the basic neck protector, but he will wear the full-sized one because he really believes in doing everything you possibly can to protect yourself while you're playing the game from whatever accidents might happen.
Speaker 1:Other than that, he was at the Nashville draft. He loved his experience. He just gushed about what an amazing experience it was and getting to meet players from all over and seeing the city and just walking around the streets, and not just Carolina fans but hockey fans in general wanted to talk to him and get his autograph and his picture and he was super enthusiastic about that experience. So hopefully that gives him a little extra excitement and motivation to come over to North America once his contract's up at the end of this season and then um off the rink. His big passion is fishing so I think once he comes to whether whether he starts in Chicago or comes to Raleigh, I definitely think he'll be able to engage in that particular pastime with no problem. He likes to net fish. He likes to fish with a fishing rod. He's really passionate about that particular pastime to help him relax and get away from the game a little bit.
Speaker 2:Well, that's really cool. Now, when is his contract up? Do we recall? With three quarters of next year, I think at the end of this season.
Speaker 1:I think his contract, his current contract with the KHL, is up at the end of this season.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, that makes sense and that would, as you say, it would be a nice transition for him to head over to Chicago and continue and this will give him a year in the KHL to, as you say, continue to bulk up and continue to refine his talents and skills. But again, another player that not many folks know much about, with Alexander Recov, who really has very strong potential playing for the Hurricanes, and you know that's one of the challenges. I mean there are several others. I mean, if you consider the Canes drafted 15 Russians in the last three years and we've talked about five and some of them who came before, then you start to get the message pretty clear.
Speaker 2:There's a couple of other folks I was just going to mention in passing that and maybe at a later time, when we really peel the onion back on Russians, we'll talk about Timur Mukhanov, small forward. He's 5'9", I think, 165. He's a guy that, again, igor Smirnov said this guy was a monster steal. He is an incredible talent. He's a great skater, he's a hard working guy, he can really shoot the puck and, again, a very strong, talented guy. The reason he wasn't drafted smaller player, but again he's a great talent. Vladimir Grudin, again a smaller defenseman, 5'11", 165. This guy can skate like anything. He handles the puck like you wouldn't believe. Power play. Quarterback does it all.
Speaker 1:He's another guy that again.
Speaker 2:Smirnoff likes him a lot and he thinks he has a future with the Hurricanes. He fully expects at some point he's going to come over to North America. And then Alexander Parabalov and we've heard a little bit about Parabalov now and again. He's another guy, again drafted way lower than expected. High hockey IQ, smart player, works both as of the rink and has solid offensive acumen. So these are just the tip of the iceberg. There's so many of them, gosh. This year we had six of them. So what are we going to do with all these players? In any case, clearly the future is bright for the Hurricanes when it comes to Russians and we're going to hear a lot more about them and certainly as they start to bring them over like they are this year, it's going to be great to watch some of these players in Chicago, as you mentioned Thoughts.
Speaker 1:I just want to give a big shout-out first of all, to Anya. We've mentioned her a couple of times, but she has just been an amazing resource. If you are not following her on TwitterX, please go do so, because she provides so many insights on what's going on with Arkanes players specifically, she'll find video clips, interviews. She will translate them to English and put those subtitles on so that we can get even more of a picture into their lives. So a big, big thank you to Anya for all of the help that she provided with getting to know our Russian prospects a little bit better and help us to get even more excited about them coming over than we already are.
Speaker 2:And Katie, can you just share her X handle so that we can ask people to follow her as well?
Speaker 1:So I believe her handle is at capital U-G-G-G, underscore, u-g-g-g.
Speaker 2:All right, so at Agog. Very nice, yes, and thanks again. I agree. Wonderful information from Anya and we really appreciate it immensely, erin.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know I'm going to tag on to that and say that it is really wonderful because, you know, when you have someone who's there, they get those little details about their lives, their hobbies, their background that we just can't, you know, get yet because they're not here yet. So it's wonderful to get that connection with some of these young players and be able to say, you know, gosh, this isn't just a name and a set of stats, this is, you know, a young man that we're going to be watching in Chicago or in the NHL sometime in the near future. So that's exciting. And the only other thing I wanted to add is that I think that one of the reasons I'm so hopeful right now about all these young kids is the renewal of the Hurricanes affiliation with the Chicago Wolves.
Speaker 3:We haven't really touched on that, but it's a big reason why I think they were so comfortable drafting six more Russians this year, you know, is because we know that a lot of these young European players they will be playing in Russia or the others in different European countries for maybe a year or so after the draft. But you want to have somewhere to bring them in within the organization without it having to be either your home team back in your home country or the NHL. That's not a great set of alternates, you know, for players that are kind of pushing that NHL but just need a little polish. So I think a lot of us are just really excited that that situation happened and that we're going to be able to see these players in Chicago and see clips from what we're doing and, you know, get here firsthand reports of how their progress is coming, because that means a lot. It really does.
Speaker 2:I agree and I think the key there is that I mean, Chicago has been a great franchise. Of course, they won the Calder Cup not so long ago and getting the players into the Canes system as early as they can, so they start to learn the way that the Canes play, as we know, the right way, I think that's going to be really critical and I totally agree with you. This is an opportunity for the Canes to bring these players over and we're seeing it right now, with both Gleb Trikosov and Ruslan Kazaev heading into Chicago.
Speaker 2:So I think that's outstanding. You know the Canes are in a situation that is enviable. We've talked a little bit about this in the past. How could a team that has performed so well the last six years been able to have so many outstanding prospects? And we haven't even talked about several of the other top prospects that are currently on the Canes roster or certainly fighting for Canes positions and will be in the near future. That's quite a story when you think about it, how the Canes have done that. Any idea about that as well. Story when you think about it how the Canes have done that. Any idea about that as well?
Speaker 3:I think that it's just the fact that they have been unwilling to deplete their prospect covered by going all in for a cup run if they weren't right on the verge. I think this past year, with the trade of Michael Bunting and the various prospect and draft pick pieces that went with that trade, it's the first time we've seen them step out and make that exception and say, okay, this is a player that we really want to acquire, at least for playoffs. You know they hoped to keep him longer and that didn't work out. But you know it was the first time that they really stepped outside of that mold and they really again, because they had so many prospects in the system. Pieces that were traded were not pieces that the Canes can't live without. So it is amazing, it's an incredible level of intelligence to do things the way that they're doing things.
Speaker 1:I agree that the Canes really have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the depth of their organization. There are a lot of teams out there that their cupboards are bare. I mean, they're beyond bare. They just don't have a whole lot of options moving forward either in picks or prospects, and so it's going to be hard for them to stay competitive now because they don't have anything to give another team at a trade deadline for a potential key piece to make another cup run. But the Canes are very, very well positioned. If there is somebody else who comes up like Gensel in the future. The Canes are really well positioned in picks and prospects to move forward and to make the team better if they feel like that's what they need to do. And it's nice to know, as a fan, that the team is in good hands and is well looked after, not just for the NHL organization but beyond the NHL organization.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, and you know, as we've learned, you know, Don Waddell obviously moving on and now the new kind of regime, so to speak, with Eric Tulsky and Darren York and Rod Brindamore, and Eric giving great compliments, I think, from Waddell and others as he continues to build his new team. And you know there are folks that don't necessarily agree with some of the moves that Eric's made. They feel like he's not done as much as they would like. But clearly the decision to continue to make a lot of draft picks, and several of them way later than expected, is really, as you say, it's filled the cupboards and what a future the Canes are going to have as some of these players start to emerge with the Hurricanes. So, yeah, it's been a great conversation, as always, learned a ton about several of these players. Ladies, wonderful information. We're going to look forward to doing this real soon and hopefully, as you enjoy the rest of your summer, whatever brief amount that is, please do so and let's catch up to talk more Canes hockey in the not too distant future.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much to Aaron and Katie for their contribution today. We have some sessions coming up in the not too distant future, so stay tuned for that. Also wanted to thank Anya for her contribution. Anya, of course, is available on X under uppercase U, lowercase ggg Check her out. She has great information about the canes currently in Russia. And again, if you enjoyed this episode, please hit the like button. If you'd like to be alerted of future episodes of StormTracker, please subscribe and we'll make sure you're made aware when they are available. Thanks so much for joining. We'll catch up real soon right here on StormTracker. Thank you.
