[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts (Russian Edition, Vol. 14):

W Ruslan Karimov (6'0",201lbs)
Sarnia (OHL): 62gp/ 14g/ 14a/ 28pts, -7, 57 PIM

Russian Import Ruslan Karimov (ranked #216 NA Skaters) had a bit of fanfare coming in to this season, having been chosen 6th-overall in the 2024 CHL Import Draft after a 2023-24 campaign that saw him post 13 goals and 22 points in 25 MHL games with Sputnik Almetievsk as a 16-year-old on a bad team. This year, he's been toiling for the Sarnia Sting, who are currently 17th in the standings out of 20 teams, and also 17th in goals-scored. Despite playing on a young team, Karimov seems to have been relegated to middle-six duty, and only sporadically gets time playing with top-line talent, which may be one of the reasons behind his middling production (he is tied for 6th in rookie goal-scoring at least), but I believe he's much better offensively than his stats show. His 28 points are only 15 points off of the team lead. Karimov is a power-forward who may be the most energetic and hard-working player in this draft class; few players at the junior level can outwork him. He's a fast-paced, ultra-physical player- needless to say, I like him very much.

Karimov is a human wrecking ball, with constant physical engagement and uncommon strength, going from one hit to the next. He's like a pitbull in board battles, never gives up on a play, and wins possession with his overwhelming tenacity, unrelenting grit, and his bite. He drives opponents crazy, and is very difficult to play against; he hits everything that moves, throwing his weight around with hard bodychecks, and can blast opponents with thunderous open-ice hits. The young Russian plays on the edge, and sometimes goes over it. These qualities make him highly effective, and intimidating, on the forecheck, attacking tirelessly and grinding his opponents down to apply pressure and force uncontrolled plays. Most of his offense comes from his play around the net, scoring the majority of his goals in-tight, and generating looks from down-low. While he isn't showing himself to be a high-end offensive player in the OHL, and he may be lacking true creativity and playmaking vision, he does show some anticipatory awareness in the offensive zone, and employs a rather "North American" style. He attacks the net, and isn't at all afraid to crash the crease, or to bulldoze his way into open space in the slot for a chance at a shot on net, or a rebound. He positions himself at the net-front to battle for position, set up a screen, cause havok, and hopefully get his stick on a tip, or a loose puck. His hands are fairly soft in-tight, and he is adept at hunting down open spaces to fill below the dots. In addition, he owns a hard catch-and-release wrister, and a bomb of a one-timer.

If all else fails, Karimov is still a potent shutdown player, and a stalwart on the PK- which could be a big selling point going forward, and a future calling-card. He's just as relentless and energetic on the backcheck, as he is on the forecheck- he hunts down puck-carriers to completely smother them, and he brings his physicality to wear them down and punish them. This mentality serves him well in the neutral zone as well, making him the ultimate pest to streaking attackers, and giving him the capability to cause disruption to opposing teams' rushes. Karimov is not a burner, but he skates well, and can beat faster players to loose pucks with sheer will, and high-end workrate. His puck-skills are reasonably good, and he's a shifty enough skater to affect transition for his team in a positive way; he passes quite well, which aids him in supporting the rush, but he can also skate the puck through the neutral zone (albeit mostly in straight-lines), backing defensemen up with his high-paced approach to gain the line. Karimov has been known to go out of his way to chase a hit, and his offensive game is in question, but he has definite NHL-qualities and may be a safe pick, with an NHL floor as a 4th-line energy player, and penalty-killer. Still, there's potential for more. Look for him in the middle-rounds.