[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Graf-ic Edition):

I don't know what has happened to 5'11",161lb C Yegor Graf. His playoffs have been a disaster, between missing 7 of his team's 18 games (I'm assuming due to injury), and putting up only 1 point in 11 games. In the regular season for SKA-1946 St.Petersburg, he was sometimes part of a dominant trio made up of himself, draft-darling Ivan Demidov, and Ignat Lutfullin, amassing 13 goals and 38 points in 39 MHL games. From what I can tell, Graf only played on that line part of the time, as he spent the season bouncing around the lineup, trying to fit in- there were times he didn't even get top-6 minutes. His wildly fluctuating ice-time game-to-game reflects this, especially down the stretch, as he could get over 19 minutes one game, and under 8 minutes the next. Graf should be a star in the MHL, as he finished 4th in scoring in 2022-23 on another SKA squad, SKA Varyagi St.Petersburg, with 19 points in 34 games- ahead of several older players on the team, and 2024 draft-eligibles in the MHL such as Matvei Korotky, Fyodor Avramov, and Daniil Anatsky. Graf has youth on his side though, with a June 25th birthday.

Graf leans heavily towards being a playmaker, despite the fact that he owns a blistering wrister with a quick, deceptive release that he can unleash in full flight. He's also good around the net, and can score in-close with 2nd, and 3rd efforts. His IQ and vision are high-end, and he's a creative distributor with the ability to find teammates with crisp, accurate passes while in flight. He can dish forehand or backhand, and over sticks, between feet, and through triangles. He's a fine manipulator, and adept at drawing defenders to him, in order to pass to open teammates. Off the puck, he's always in the right position to support the play and be an option for passes. Puckhandling is a huge plus for him, as his hands are quick and smooth, and he controls well- he can weave through traffic with the puck on a string. It's difficult to strip him of possession. Despite an almost complete lack of physicality, Graf forechecks well, finding ways to be disruptive with his stick, anticipation, and smart positioning. The same can be said in the defensive zone, as he's reliable and understands the center position in taking away the middle from opponents. He's considered to be an excellent defensive forward, and he's also strong in faceoffs, as well as both sides of special teams. With his passing, vision, and stickhandling, he's an asset in transition and is often seen quarterbacking the rush.

Graf is strong on his skates and hard to knock off stride, but his skating is around average speed-wise. Despite this, he has fairly good agility and can move laterally quite well. Some of his issues will be cleared up as he gets stronger, which is another must going forward. Graf might be another long-term project, and I'm not sure how his game will translate to the next level. At this stage, he's not really a play-driver- more of a complimentary player. There must be reasons why his ice-time is so up and down this year, and his playoff performance will hurt his draft stock. Even though he's in the top-50 on some lists, I will say he goes in the 5th round.