LW/RW Nikita Chibrikov,5'10"172lbs (SKA St.Petersburg,MHL): 11gp/3g/6a/9pts,12PIM. Also had stops in the men's leagues, the VHL (20gp/3g/5a/8pts,49PIM), and the KHL (16gp/1g/1a/2pts). His big coming out party was perhaps at the U-18s, where he put up 13pts in 7 games, with 14PIM-4th in tournament scoring, and team Captain. He was one of my favorites to watch, as he has that "get you out of your seat" quality, with unbelievable speed and the willingness to get his nose dirty. "He excels at getting the puck up ice and facilitating high-danger, high-octane offense"-EPRinkside.
As mentioned, Chibrikov has immense speed and skill, and lightning-fast acceleration-he beats opponents wide with regularity. He's unpredictable and elusive, can separate on the rush, and plays with pace. He's an elite skater, with fluid crossovers that generate power. Quite simply, he can dominate play in the offensive zone. Known for having fantastic puck-control, he maintains possession in tight spaces, and is uncommonly poised and calm with the puck. Another important part of his offensive game is his mastery of deception, which is a very translatable skill-he can manipulate the opposition with subtle head fakes, and hand/foot movements. Sublime hands, and gets the puck off in a hurry, and uses those deceptive moves to put the puck where he wants it to go. He has top-notch vision and anticipation, and can pull off quick, accurate passes in full flight-he's a great playmaker. He can find a teammate with a high-danger pass through traffic, even with a defender draped all over him. He's also great at saucer-passes over sticks. Processes the game at a high level, and reads the play well. With his speed and skill, he's also a threat in transition-he attacks open lanes, or carves them out for himself, and makes clean entries with control.
Chibrikov has plenty of grit and sandpaper in his game-he throws hits, battles hard in the corners, and isn't afraid to get his nose dirty. He wins battles for pucks. He will go to the net-front to get tips or rebounds, or to screen the goalie. He's aggressive on the forecheck, and protects the puck well. Great lower-body strength, with a low center of gravity makes it nearly impossible to knock off the puck. There's no doubt that Chibrikov is a high-end offensive winger, but his weaknesses are in his defensive game. Although he possesses IQ and vision in the other two zones, his defensive awareness and positioning aren't where they should be. He often drops assignments, fails to pick off passes, or misses closing out lanes that would've brought the time in his zone to an end. It may have something to do with his ebbing/flowing consistency and effort level on that side of the puck, although his effort at the junior level in this regard seems a lot higher, but there are some bad reads. His play without the puck is inconsistent too, as he sometimes looks lost when not in possession-that could be because he so often has the puck. He also needs to get stronger to handle the rigors of playing his type of game in the NHL. His contract with SKA is up after 2022-23.
|