2011 draft prospect- Vladislav Namestnikov, C, 6’0, 160, London
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Vladislav Namestnikov, C, 6’0, 160, London
Selected 20th overall in the 2010 CHL import draft
40 games, 18 goals, 23 assists, 41 points, +15+/-, 20 pim
By Ian Esplen
Vladislav Namestnikov was born in Russia, but spent a lot of his early childhood years in North America. He traveled from city to city, while his father (Evgeny Namestnikov) tried to make it to the National hockey league, like his uncle Vyacheslav Kozlov. Growing up in North America did have its perks for Namestnikov. He would learn to speak flawless English at a young age, which would make his transition to the OHL an easy one.
At about the age of eight, Namestnikov, returned home to Russia to play the game there. It was there, that Namestnikov would start making a name for him self as one of the best 1992 born Russians in the country. He would move on from minor hockey to play internationally for Russia, and in their senior leagues against men at a young age.
At the world under 17 challenge, despite a disappointing 2-3 record for Russia, he would score 10 points in 5 games (8 of them goals) and finish tied for third in points. His highlight of the tournament coming in a game against team Atlantic, where he would score four goals. Namestnikov would suit up for Russia again at the World Under 18 Championships. While his team did better finishing forth, it was still short of their expectations of winning gold. Namestnikov would finish with 7 points in 7 games, good for a 12th place tie in scoring for the tournament.
Before coming to London, Namestnikov was playing against men in Russia’s 2nd division. While playing with Khimik Voskresensk, he would score 17 points in 26 games (11 of them goals).
Once is London, Namestnikov would establish himself as one of their top 6 forwards. His 41 points show that he is very dangerous at the offensive end, but what cannot go over looked is his solid play in his own end as well. While he may not be the biggest player, he is extremely smart and uses his positioning and speed to cause turnovers.
"Vladislav has all the skills and talent to be a great player," says E.J. McGuire, the NHL's director of central scouting. "He has a high understanding of the game and an ability to make things happen. And he compensates for a lack of size with straight-ahead speed"(Curtis).
Namestnikov is a very skilled forward, who can play centre or wing. His assets are his effortless skating, high skill, and smarts. Namestnikov is also very solid in all 3 zones and works hard on the back check. His only real flaw is his strength, and he can be knocked off the puck easy. This should improve over time as he becomes stronger. He has been compared to Igor Larionov, which is pretty accurate, but he should be more of a goal scorer.
NHL comparison- Igor Larionov (with more goals)
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