Breaking The Russian Factor

How being open to the unknown has benefited the Carolina Hurricanes

From 2000-2017 the Carolina Hurricanes used 145 total draft picks. In those 145 picks, they have picked as high as second overall and as low as 276th overall. Out of those 145 picks, 39 went on to play 100 NHL games, 12 would play 500 NHL games, and 3 would play 1,000 NHL games (Eric Staal, Jack Johnson, and Andrew Ladd).

Looking at this group there is one trend that stands out above all. It is the Russian players, or the lack there of. Igor Knyazev (15th overall in 2001) was the only Russian pick the Canes made from 2000-2017. Knyazev never panned out at the NHL level and was a career KHL player. A major let down for a 1st round pick.

Now obviously the Canes broke the Russian-less drought in 2018 when they selected Andrei Svechnikov 2nd overall. 17 years and 134 picks separate the Knyazev and the Svechnikov picks.

Since the Canes drafted Svechnikov, they have taken a Russian in every draft since and have drafted a total of 11 Russian prospects in those 4 years.

Although it’s early in the development of all of these players, it is fair to say that the Canes drafting Russians will pay dividends in the coming years. The Canes best goalie prospect and arguably the best skater prospects are all Russians.

Other teams being open to drafting Russians has been great. Tampa Bay, New York, and Minnesota all got bonafide superstars in day 2 draft picks.

A Look At Each Russian Pick Since Svech

Pyotr Kochetkov (G, 36th overall, 2019)

Kochetkov was an interesting case on draft day. He was a double overager drafted in the early second round. In fact, Kochetkov is a year older than Svechnikov who was drafted the year previous.

Seeing Kochetkov was a double overager, I was rather disappointed at the time because I wanted the Canes to draft Mads Sogaard with that pick who was a first year eligible goalie. In the years following the pick I could not be more pleased with the pick. Kochetkov has gone on to be the Canes top goaltending prospect and is currently the starter for the Chicago Wolves (Hurricanes AHL affiliate). With both Freddie Andersen’s and Antti Raanta’s contracts expiring at the end of this season, expect to see Kochetkov a lot in 2023-24.

Kirill Slepets (RW, 152nd overall, 2019)

Similar to Kochetkov, Slepets was drafted as a double overager. Drafted as a goal scoring winger, Slepets was a low risk/high reward pick. If Slepets never amounts to anything at the NHL level, it’s just a 5th round pick. If Slepets does become something at the NHL level, he would be a star. Since he was picked, Slepets has struggled to truly boom at the KHL level. He puts up solid numbers in the VHL (Russian equivalent of the AHL) yet hasn’t ascended past depth forward at the KHL level and is currently injured. I would love to see Slepets pan out but it feels like that ship as sailed. Not a bad pick by the Canes given the draft location and the upside provided with the pick.

Vasili Ponomarev (C, 53rd overall, 2020)

If you know me you know I hyped up Ponomarev over the summer. The two way center has really risen in my personal rankings of the Canes prospects up to the third best forward prospect behind Jack Drury and a player who is also on this list. Not only is Ponomarev the type of player Rod Brind’amour loves, he also has really tapped into his offensive upside recently.

Ponomarev spent most of his 2021-22 season in Russia but he came over to North America late in the season and helped the Chicago Wolves win the Calder Cup. Ponomarev impressed at training camp and was one of the last cuts. I wholeheartedly believe Ponomarev will make the Canes opening night roster in 2023-24 and will be a staple of the middle six for years to come.

Alexander Nikishin (D, 69th overall, 2020)

Where do we start with the man the call BOOM? I will start with the downside of Nikishin. He is signed in Russia till 2026.

These types of signings deter many teams from taking swings on Russian prospects because they could have a guaranteed asset or a player playing in Russia and not benefiting the organization.

However, Nikishin may very well be worth the wait. He is currently on a tear in the KHL (the best league other than the NHL). So far Nikishin has won defenseman of the month in both months of KHL play and is on a scoring tear with 22 points in 26 games. Points aren’t the only thing Nikishin contributes as well. The 6’4” 220 lbs defender also adds in a degree of physicality most teams can’t match. His nickname comes from the fact that almost every game he lays the BOOM.

Nikishin is currently the best Defenseman in the KHL and is a human highlight reel at both ends of the ice. Nikishin would probably be a starting defenseman for most NHL teams and the fact that a player of this caliber is in the system is huge for Carolina. If the Canes can persuade Nikishin to come over to North America, they may have a top line defender.

Only time will tell wether or not Nikishin will decide to play in the NHL and the choice is up to him at this point. Canes fans will surely love seeing a player like that in their lineup.

Alexander Pashin (FWD, 199th overall, 2020)

Alexander Pashin embodies what I believe teams should do with late round picks. That is swing on the boom or bust players with late picks. It is rare to find a player with Pashin’s skill level in the 7th round. The 5’8” forward fell in the 2020 draft mainly because of his size and how Pashin was loyal to his KHL club. Many scouts said Pashin has first round talent but also the size and the Russian factor were issues. The Canes decided to take a swing on Pashin in the 7th round and he looks like he could make the NHL and possibly even the top 6.

Over the summer Pashin came to North America (scouts thought he never would in 2020) and he signed a contract with the Canes. Since signing that contract he has scored a lacrosse goal in the prospects tournament and is one of the young pieces for the Wolves who have been struggling. Pashin will take some time to adjust to the North American ice but once he does he will be a force to be reckoned with.

Yegor Naumov (G, 200th overall, 2021)

I’m going to be honest, I have no clue what’s going on with Naumov. His draft year stats primarily came from playing in the league below the MHL.

Making the jump to the MHL last season, Naumov played as a backup posting poor numbers. He has yet to play this season and it would require a miracle for Naumov to make the NHL. It was a 7th round pick, Canes took a swing and missed. Hopefully Naumov can make a career out of his talents but honestly I don’t have a clue what he could even be.

Nikita Guslistov (C, 209th overall, 2021)

Guslistov is yet another overager but there is upside here. He’s producing well as a 20 year old in a mens league. I haven’t seen much of Guslistov so I can’t say too much on him. He’s a 7th round pick that could amount to something and if he ever wants to come to North America, the Canes will own his rights. Hopefully he will amount to something but it’s not the worst if he does not.

2022:

Gleb Trikozov (LW, 60th overall)/Alexander Peravalov (LW, 71st overall)/Vladimir Grudinin (D, 156th overall), Alexander Pelevin (D, 205th)

Now we are entering the most recent draft picks. Honestly it’s far too early to tell on any of these prospects. However, Gleb Trikozov was one of my favorite forwards of the draft and had scouts split on where he would wind up going. Many had him in their top 10 and just as many had him in the 3rd round. Personally, Gleb was one of those top 10 players and could wind up being the steal of the draft.

Grudinin was in a similar boat and I saw him commonly ranked in the 1st round. Grudinin is one of the best skaters of the 2022 draft and by far the best among defenseman. A large reason why Grudinin fell was in the weeks leading up to the draft, the club with Grudinin’s rights (CSKA Moskva) had the massive issue with Flyers prospect Ivan Fedotov getting arrested for trying to defect to North America. There is no doubt in my mind that this incident wrote Grudinin off with most scouts.

It is unfair to make any definitive statements about these four players this early but I expect big things from all four in the coming years.

Closing Thoughts

The Canes not drafting any Russian players over the course of 17 years really had three miss out on some top talent. So many Russian stars who went on day 2 or undrafted and not taking a single chance on a Russian for so long definitely hindered the team. Imagine if the Canes took a chance on a Kucherov, Kaprizov, Panarin, Shesterkin, Sorokin, and so many more stars.

Under the ownership of Tom Dundon, the Canes have flourished and part of that is allowing the team to spend money. The Canes now have scouts in Russia and that could lead to finding some real gems, especially if they continue drafting like this. No team drafts as well as the Canes have in the past decade and in opening up a new pool of players to pick from, the Canes may just continue being a contender for years.

A Note From Me

Thank you for reading this piece. It’s my first piece I will be publishing and if you do read this, you will be an original supporter of whatever this is. If you have any thoughts I would love to hear them. All feedback is good feedback.

Thank You! :)