Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
It came down to 3 Russians for me: Nikolaev, Kuznetsov, and Chechelev.
Of the three, Chechelev has the most impressive numbers, but he's a goalie in a lower league. Can't take that too seriously yet.
Nikolaev has some abilities, and is a point per game player so far in the MHL, but has a ways to go before he's NHL ready.
Kuznetsov plays a mobile defensive game, and can be dominant in that facet. I doubt he scores much in the NHL, but a really good shutdown d-man shouldn't be overlooked. He's playing in a strong program at Connecticut, and by already playing in North America, has the strongest shot of transitioning to the NHL.
I went with Kuznetsov, and I don't doubt that I'll be voting for a while, but I see really good NHL potential there.
|
I dont think it's impossible that Kuznetsov develops his own style of offensive game too- no one ever thought Chara was going to put up big points at NHL level but he rounded out his own offensive game to suit his play style.
I think we're sleeping on Kuznetsov. He was the youngest player in college last year and was not at all out of his element. He has a lot of potential.