Sp3nny

He's already 18, and he's actually closer to 19 than 18 at this point. January birthday.

So 6 PPG, 5 of which were against weaker teams in Latvia and Switzerland, and 3 of which were tap ins at the side of the net ALA Sedins with Carter, where he used no speed or size, means he's an all star and "way too good". What about his 0 assists in the tournament? What about the fact that the scoring for the U18 tourney was led by 15, 16 and 17 year olds? I guess they are all "way too good" for boys hockey as well. We should see Bedard, Michkov, Miroschnichenko, Wright, Savoie, all come along and instantly dominate the Q. He was the best player on Belarus along with Kuzmin, who I really like as well. But that doesn't mean he is suddenly better than everyone else in the QMJHL. A league where he has proved nothing. I like your support for the team, and especially for the players. But please atleast put it in some level of reality.

Alf, please view my prior posts about the VSS and respond accordingly. The Q likely means competition that is 2" and 30lbs heavier than what has faced so far. He really didnt even dominate his own league considering he was outscored by MULTIPLE players under 5'8 and 140lbs. Mantha scored back to back 50+ goal seasons in the Q as a bigger player. I don't see him being harmed or retarded in his development for that. In fact, he then spent 2 years in the AHL after refining his game. Exact same thing with Garland, who "dominated" the QMJHL and then spent two years in the AHL. If you truly think he will dominate because of something tangible, please provide the evidence. Otherwise, your words are essentially baseless.

I can understand your viewpoint there. I think it will be an agree to disagree scenario, as I feel getting practice, but also the opportunity to put that practice into game action, and especially as a top line forward in the Q, is more valuable than extra practice time but half the games in the AHL as you suggest, and in what is more likely a bottom 6 role. And honestly, as I have provided the prior insight into DK's game along with the VYSSHAYA league, I'm pretty firm in that belief. Every player is different though, so who knows at this point. I will say that my position is based on him being able to play one year in the QMJHL, and then moving onto the AHL, which is something we still haven't quite sorted out. So my position could change depending on the true understanding of that.

I really like the teaching illustration as it does provide a fitting example. However, would not the teaching you do be like practice, and games be like an actual worksheet where the students put the knowledge to use? Head knowledge is only valuable if it can be instituted in a real world way. To me, you can practice as much as you want, but if you can't integrate it into a game, it's useless. 99% of NHL players can do a Michigan in practice, or go bar down over and over again from the face-off circle. How many can do it in game consistently? It's just a completely different environment in game, and the only way you get that experience is by playing and putting the acquired skills to use in different ways, much like solving more difficult problems after learning the basic principles. Now for younger players who need to improve skills, practice is extremely valuable, don't get me wrong. But the best players in the world are the ones who are able to integrate into a game, and hopefully so during the big "test" of the playoffs.

You will find me far, far on the other side of that debate. Practice is just that, practice. Yes it's valuable to work on individual skills, but not moreso than actual real hockey where those skills are put into practice and you learn how to truly contribute to the on ice product.

Vishnevskiy played in the CHL before being drafted. Klimovich has not. That's the difference. However, it's reported that Danila may have signed with Rouyn, but since he couldn't get into Canada, it's unknown if the contract was ever validated. Atleast that's my understanding at this point. It is definitely tricky, but to me, he is closest to Tlusty situation.

Have a look at this article and let me know what you think. I think it's clear he can play junior and them AHL whenever he wants after. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.stanleycupofchowder.com/platform/amp/2012/8/1/3213217/bruins-nhl-chl-ahl-agreement-CBA-talks-2012

My understanding is that as he was drafted out of Europe, he can move to the AHL at any point. See Jiri Tlusty as an example.

I've stated my opinion on where he should play many pages back, but I will reiterate for those who missed it, as I think it puts into perspective the situation for both those who watch his play, but also those who look at his stats. VYSSHAYA is the primary league Klim played in. Looking at his stats from his draft year, you see he was near a goal per game and well over a PPG. In a normal league that we are used to (any CHL, NCAA, Allsvenskan, SHL etc) these numbers look fantastic. However, if you look into the VYSS further, you will see Klim was 16th in league scoring, and even further, 38th in PPG. Some of the players have small samples of only a few games, but even removing those puts him around 20th. Still pretty good, but what if I then told you the top player was at 2.55PPG and had 2.5x as many points as Klim? Or if the second leading scorer in the league at 1.94 PPG was 5'7 115lbs? Third leading scorer was over 2 PPG, but checked in at 134lbs. In fact, the average size of the top 10 is 5'10 156lbs. And as far as I can tell, VYSS is an U20 league. The top 10 scorers in the Q last year who "dominated" the league come in at an average size of 6'0 190lbs. The Q also has overage players meaning that there are many 20+ yr olds throughout the league. Putting this all into context, Danila has the size the play hockey with men, and I personally would say he has the skill to as well. But should he go up against the second best men in the world? Think about it from his POV. He is used to playing against an average size of 150lbs. He likely doesn't think much of going into the corner for a puck, driving the net, or cutting through the middle of the ice, as he is much bigger than most around him. Is the next logical step for him to go to the AHL, with almost nobody else his age playing? Where the average size is likely 3' and 50lbs greater than he is used to, and most definitely more physical in nature. A league where his patented style will be neutralized, and there is less flexibility for mistakes? Or is it to a junior league, where the competition is reasonably better than he is used to, the players are 30lbs heavier than he is used to, and he is of average age in the league. Where he can make mistakes, adapt to NA amongst peers, and continue to learn to use his patented style in tougher competition. To me, I think the QMJHL is the next logical step. Even if it's just one season, he will be that much more ready for the AHL the following year. I'm not saying the AHL is a bad idea, sometimes players can have great success making the jump. But those examples are extremely limited. Do we want him learning to play pro hockey on a 3rd or 4th line, or learning how to actually dominate his peers. People have been using the term "dominate" like its a bad thing. Would it be terrible for him to dominate the QMJHL? Absolutely not. A case could be made that it reinforces bad habits, but thats for players who have ALREADY dominated the league using said habits. All we know about Danila so far is that he performed well in a lesser league. He needs to be given the opportunity to show how his skills translate to a tougher league, without the ask being too much. The last point to consider I think, is do we consider Kole Lind as having "dominated" the WHL before moving up to the AHL? If so, how did his transition go? I'm sure we would agree that his first AHL year was a bit of a struggle for him. How will Danila's transition go, when we don't know for sure that he would "dominate" the Q. Many good players have dominated the Q and turned out just fine. See Kucherov and even our newest top 6 player in Conor Garland. Has anyone seen Garlands stats in the Q? Very high end, and he still took 2 years in the AHL after before making making the NHL. All that being said, I'm sure the Canucks along with Danila will be able to make the best choice. It will be very fun watching him develop!

These clips are very encouraging! His skating actually looks quite improved compared to my prior videos. You could see in the U18 video that it had improved already, but this looks another notch ahead. He has always looked better picking up speed in crossovers, hence his love of winding up in the neutral zone. But he looks very effective in backing up the defense in this way, and his hands allow him to he very deceptive about if he's going to cut inside or wide.

Ok I haven't been able to reply all day, but I am going to provide the videos that I am basing my assessment on. This will be like a follow up to my prior post, so you guys can see for yourselves what I am talking about. You can make your own assessments as well and let us know, but here is my take. I watched the Belarus vs Sweden game at the U18 this year to specifically watch for Swedish players (Lysell in particular, but also Rosen etc). This is where Klimovich first came on my radar, and one sequence of plays in particular, which you can find starting at 18 seconds of this video, which is all highlights from this year's U18's. That first play had me going "who the hell is this stallion of a kid just ripping around the rink!?" This started me down the rabbit hole of researching him, which both excited but also deterred me somewhat, which I will go over. That video is the most recent play we have on him, and we can see nice top end speed, great hands, and both his wicked shot and nose for the net. One thing you will notice, is this guy has a very rinse and repeat style. Wind up with speed through the neutral zone, and shoot the puck on net. How far he can successfully survive maintaining that kind of play does concern me. Skating: Klimovich looks quite big, especially in his torso/thighs, similar to our former Virtanen. This gives him a very solid foundation to his skating, and you rarely see him muscled off the puck, while also providing him with adequate weight to throw his body around. We can also see that he doesn't have the nicest stride though, so his first few steps are a bit slow and lacking power/extension. If he can correct some of this technique through a power skating coach, we could see him get to a Virtanen like level, which combined with his shot would make him very deadly. Shot: Not much needs to be said here. This kid can flat out snipe. He likes to setup in the Ovi position, and he wants the puck badly, often calling for it and directing play to make himself an option for the pass. As great as his wrist shot is, I don't think he has the greatest power on his one-timer. The few instances where he has used it, the shot is fine, but doesn't "wow" me (see 55 second mark). More examples will be found in the following videos. Based on his wrist shot though, coupled with his size, that's likely not an accurate assessment, but its all we have to go off of at this point. While his shot is great, we see lots of goals/shots from sharp angles, which work at lower levels, but once the goalies start getting better, these angles are a lot more difficult to take advantage of. Also, all of his 6 goals were on the PP, and 5 of them came against other weaker teams in Latvia and Switzerland. Hands: We see him use the "between the legs" move in that first clip, but also a nice dangle at 1:01 and 2:20. He also makes a few nice handles while picking up speed through the neutral zone throughout. Just how good his hands are will be seen in the next video. Playmaking/Vision: This is where my concerns start to get raised. I know Belarus doesn't have the greatest team, so perhaps Klimovich feels he needs to carry the play himself. As mentioned in the shooting section, he is constantly calling for the puck, and once he gets it, as his skill and size dictate, he tries to do a lot on his own. Starting at the 1:16 mark, we see Klimovich on a 3-on-2, where the trailing #15 is wide open right in front. Instead of passing, Klimovich uses a backhand from a sharp angle. All in all, we see a very skilled rushing player with a great shot. Certainly someone who looks skilled from an individual perspective, but also a player that is quite one-dimensional. After watching that Belarus game, I went on YouTube and found whatever videos I could on him. While there isn't a lot, someone has actually provided a highlight video from him for the past few yrs. This is where we see just how skilled he is, but also how low-tier the Belarus leagues are, and also just how one-dimensional he is. Here is the video from 3 years ago, where he would have been 15, but already 5'11 and 180lbs. This provides him with a distinct size advantage over his peers at the time. As is very clear, this kid can go from end to end all game if he wants. We see how embedded the idea is that he can get by with his individual skills, as they have worked so well in his development. Skating: We see how much he loved to wind up through the neutral zone. Right from the first clip (0:14) through to the end of the video, we see multiple end-to-end style rushes where he walks through opponents like pylons. Yes, it looks incredible, but watch the defenders and see how they play him as a bigger, faster, stronger, and more skilled opponent. Often times, they make it very easy on him, and he bends them to his will. The sequence at 0:28 in particular, we see him get through 4 defenders, who all half-heartedly lift their sticks at him, while providing no true danger to taking the puck away. This sequence also shows his shorter stride on acceleration, where he has lots of leg movement, but not enough extension to provide top end power to get him up to speed quickly. Shot: We see his shot has been been weapon since he was young. Sharp angle shots are often scored (0:15), but we also see how accurate he can be, especially in stride cutting through the slot, where he scores a lot of his goals. The majority of the goals are scored in tight, where he dekes the goalie across the crease or direct on. Hands: His hands at this age are excellent, where we see toe-drag (0:30), cut back button hook (0:50), backhand windmill (1:20), fake slapper (1:30), between-the-stick (1:45), and backhand toe-drag (2:20), which show he has an array of stickhandling capabilities. He also does a lot of stick work while picking up speed through the neutral zone, which allows him to be deceptive in where he will go. Playmaking/Vision: We do see some examples of passing and vision at 1:02 with the cross-crease pass. As well, we see him with his head up finding a breaking out linemate at 1:58. Here is the video from 2 years ago, which I will link, but I won't comment on much as I'm sure you are starting to get the picture with this guy. High end skill on an individual level, but not a ton outside of that. Klimovich definitely loved the between the legs move on breakaways. This is consistent with all three videos. The assist at 2:45, 3:05, 3:16, and 3:48 do show that he has some level of vision and anticipation, which is good to see beyond his dangles. I know this post is long, but I hope everyone can take a couple mins and actually watch the highlights. We have a supremely talented kid on our hands, one that if developed properly could be deadly for us down the road! However, I hope this also shows why I don't think immediately jumping into the AHL or KHL is a great idea. All of Danila's success has come from his distinct playstyle, which we all know gets stifled as the competition level raises. I think the best thing for him would be the VHL at this point in Dynamo's system, where he doesn't have to learn a new culture of language, but can face a reasonably more difficult level of play, where he can either continue to dominate in the same way, but more likely, learn to make the adaptations he needs to remain successful. I also think the QMJHL would be a good option, as he would get a headstart on getting used to NA culture and language, while still facing a reasonably tougher league. Sorry for the likely longest post on CDC ever, but this kid reminds me of my favorite player growing up in Ilya Kovalchuk. Not the most team friendly player, but an absolute weapon in his own right. I know not everyone loved Kovy, but he was incredibly talented in every way. Big sniper with great wheels, wicked hands, and a bit of an emotional nasty streak when needed. We can all dream lol. PS. There is highlights from each of the past 3 years that you can watch, which I encourage. You can definitely see the refinement in some of his skills, and also how the competition gets better as well. I provided the 3 year old video as it was the most obvious to see his playstyle and skills, but also how low skilled the Belarus leagues are.

I don't think he would have been able to sustain his 2.0 PPG. Like you said, it hasn't been done in a long time, and if scouts legit thought that was a capable sample size, he would have went 1st overall. I personally think 30G 60P is a fair upside for him. Taking the already 60P forward in Garland who helps here and now, and has established that upside, is a worthy risk. Even if he does manage to be an 80P forward, it's not like that blows Garland out of the water.

He's saying men's league in that's the level of competition. It's low tier, men's league like hockey. Not men's league like he's playing with actual men lol. I think everyone needs to actually watch some tape on the kid and see the level of competition. He was 16th in league scoring at 1.41 PPG. The leading scorer was at 2.55 PPG and the runner up at 1.91 PPG was 5'7 115lbs. However, the top 4 scorers in the league were all on the same team, so it seems they were a stacked team. Klimovich was second on his team in scoring, so he seemed to pull his weight. Anyone saying he's "dominant", "way too good", or "too big" for junior NA hockey needs to do a serious assessment. When put in the context of where he actually ranks in the league, you will realize he most definitely should not be out in the deep end right away. Taking a step up to the Q is exactly where he needs to go. If he dominates, awesome! But I personally doubt he would come over and destroy the league As I said prior, he is very, very raw. He has physical gifts, but his hockey skills need some serious work. He has a rly nice shot, and his stickhandling is excellent as well. Not great acceleration, but his top end speed is nice. At times, he shows ok creativity and vision in his passes, but often, he tries to show off his individual skills, and really likes to put the puck on net. He is often calling for the puck when he doesn't have it. There isn't a ton of tape on the kid, but if you take the time to watch, you will see how often and easily he is able to go end to end and score a goal. It looks awesome, but you can see just how low tier the hockey is, and why a smaller step up in competition level is plenty to help him develop.

I think Tlusty's example is different, in that he signed in the CHL AFTER being drafted out of Europe. As @Stierlitz post says, he signed with Rouyn in September of 2020, therefore making him drafted out of the CHL.

I have no problem with him playing in the Q personally. He played all of 6 games in the Belarus Pro League. Getting him to NA, but having him learn in a junior league is a benefit, where his size and skill can overcome some difficulties of a language barrier difficulties, along with living conditions/cultural adaptations that need to be made. Some reports have made him out to be somewhat of a emotional player, so having a buffer of lesser competition for a year or two could be a good thing, where he can learn from his mistakes, while not being overly punished and playing lesser minutes. Look how we have reacted to Podkolzin's deployment in the KHL... I personally think we are eager to force some young kids to play against men, when it isn't necessarily the best for their development. Yes, it helps them play a more pro game, where they learn to play against bigger and tougher competition. However, this also means less minutes, potentially no PP time, and more discipline for your mistakes. I think this can really hamper a players offensive development. We've recently seen a bigger skill player in Mantha tear up the Q for multiple years, without being held back developmentally. If anything, it let him focus on perfecting his goal scoring knack, while also developing his passing and playmaking, where he went from 50G and 30A, to 50G and 60A. And even after this, he spent 2 years in the AHL. But this allowed him to literally step into the NHL and be a 25G 50P forward right off the bat, and increasing on those totals the following seasons. I see Klimovich as a very raw prospect in a similar vein to Mantha. He definitely has a goal scoring knack, but his passing/playmaking ability leaves a bit to be desired, as well as his skating being a bit awkward. He says he has really worked on his shot recently, which showed in the U18's. Being put into a league that he can potentially dominate will allow him to really develop his offensive skills, where he will see success for his hard work while being deployed as a top line/PP player.

Raty or Chibrikov please!

He's getting the Kaliyev treatment from two years ago, but for different reasons.

Dammit there goes my boy Samoskevich. Was rly hoping he would last till our 2nd.

Johnson setting up Sillinger in CBJ should be nasty. Hope they both rip it up!

Great pick for the Sharks! I actually rly like the picks each team has made. Some great fits so far!

I loved Kent Johnson and talked him up the most, but if my #1 in Eklund is there at 9, I may cry...

I didn't realize nobody here actually enjoyed hockey. You guys do know their is hockey to enjoy outside of the Canucks right? Lol. I'll be watching the draft like I always do!

Take Hoglander and cross him with Gallagher. I love the guy.

I love Garland, and having OEL to take some of Myers minutes away is only a good thing. Considering we gave up nothing good from our roster, it's definitely a win in the here and now. The 9th stings though...