[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Triple H Edition):

If you're looking for a late round sleeper, LHD Artyom Shchuchinov (yup, spelled right) may just be your guy. He's older by first-time draft eligible standards with an Oct.19th, 2005 birthday, but he was one of the youngest players in the KHL this season, putting up a goal and 5 points in 54 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk. Those numbers seem insignificant, but the KHL is notorious for not giving young players ice-time or opportunity, and Shchuchinov averaged less than eight minutes per game. To put it in perspective, his points were 4th in the league for defensemen 18 years-old and under, behind only Mikhail Gulyayev, Anton Silayev, and Dmitri Simashev, and 13th-overall for all players in that age group. Like most youngsters in the KHL, he played very conservatively for most of the season so as not to make mistakes that would get him demoted, but he gradually ventured more and more out of his shell as the year progressed, taking more risks offensively. It's very difficult to evaluate a player his age in the KHL as they aren't playing their true game, and in Shchuchinov's case- he's a lot more slight than most, at 5'11",and only 154lbs.

Shchuchinov won't be confused with Cale Makar, but he has excellent mobility in all 4 directions, with superb edges for extra evasiveness- which comes in handy for a smaller player. He's shifty and slippery, with the ability to spin off of checks, and plenty of slick 1-on-1 moves to get around opponents. His repertoire contains well-developed puck-skills and mechanically sound handling with quick hands, and he displays a confident delay game in breakouts as well as off the rush- he will circle back instead of making an ill-advised play, even in the KHL. Most young D get few opportunities in the KHL to show their offense, but he started to have the confidence to contribute to the attack more as the year progressed, even daring to occasionally activate off of the point, make a break up the boards to open lanes to the slot, and join the rush. Still, he didn't get to really showcase the kind of player that he truly is, but he did show good puck movement and poise under pressure against men, as well as the ability to open space for himself and teammates when carrying. His passing skill is always evident, but any sign of true creativity came only in flashes, with his more high-end playmaking on display mostly in the MHL, Russia's top Junior league, in 2022-23. This is a player that possesses good IQ and vision though, make no mistake.

Shchuchinov is effective in transition, with the confidence to carry through the neutral zone, or work give-and-goes, but will stretch the ice on occasion with a long-bomb. A big strength of his that he is able to flaunt in the big leagues is his performance in retrievals and breakouts, with a high level of patience in his passes to delay against the forecheck to choose the best option possible. He's remarkably poised on retrievals, and unfazed by pressure, using plenty of deception to get around attackers. He pays attention to his defensive duties, but like other areas of his game, his slight build is a hindrance. One positive is that he's quite good good against the rush, making an effort in killing it before it ever reaches his blueline, with solid gap-control and a well-timed stick. He struggles to defend in-zone and against the cycle, and needs to upgrade his engagement and overall awareness in this area. At the other end of the ice, he can sometimes make ill-advised pinches into the zone, leaving his partner hanging out to dry. As stated, Shchuchinov's strength, physicality, and stature are all detrimental to his overall game at this time, and need to be addressed before he has hope of an NHL future. It's hard to say if teams will ignore him on Draft day, but he's got definite potential- it's just difficult to say where he'll slot in to a lineup, and what kind of player he'll be going forward- he would have been much better off playing in the MHL this year, in my opinion. Look for him in later rounds.