Fifth Avenue Forum

Mikey, draft question:

Are you pretty high on Miroshnichenko despite the Hodgkins diagnosis? Seems like the type of player that could drop to the Pens who could have been a top 10, maybe top 5

Mikey, draft question:

Are you pretty high on Miroshnichenko despite the Hodgkins diagnosis? Seems like the type of player that could drop to the Pens who could have been a top 10, maybe top 5

This is an excellent question. I don't think he was ever a top 5 guy, I could buy that maybe he would have been or still is a top 10 guy. The tough part is - obviously the disease, seems like he's ok - but he played in the VHL this year (Russia's AHL basically) and he was really so bad for most of the year. A lot of young players don't do well in that league and then they also generally don't get a lot of minutes in the KHL...so you see guys drafted in the first round that have 27 games and a 0+1=1 stat line and go "what the hell is that?" He did fine for a child in a pro league, but he didn't look that great. He's not going to go back to juniors, ya figure, and his game too unstructured for the KHL to give him a lot of time right now, I assume...and here's the real stopper, the CHL Import Draft is banning Russians and Belarussians, evidently because they're all war criminals - ya know, the 17 year olds that just want to play hockey. Literal sports terrorists. So you can't even sign him and drop him in Quebec to play with the Remparts or Sarnia to play with the Sting. I think he's signed to 2024 with his club, it might be an option year though as that last year, it's always hard to get good info out of there...

Anyway, the player himself is a powerful skater with an unreal shot. One of the fastest releases in the class. Unfortunately, like most young players that can shoot, he becomes a little over-reliant on it and can pass up better playmaking opportunities in exchange for long wrist shots. He's definitely a talent, he's definitely a goal scorer. But his game is really immature compared to some of his peers. Maybe his hockey sense is only average or slightly above. I don't know, Russia wasn't my territory, so I only know him a little bit...but he seemed fairly one-dimensional in my viewings. The dimension is one of the five (3? 1?) best shots in the draft, so that's not nothing...I assume he goes around our pick, I just wonder what we're doing at center in three years...

I think maybe drafting Miroshnichenko is like drafting an athletic WR in the first round...great idea, if that's what you need to get you over the top. But I'm not sure if that's what our position is re: the draft is right now. I think we need to pursue some strong talents that we're a little bit more sure that they'll play...which is an easy and, overall, pointless thing to say...that's what we all want. But there's a fine line between with this homerun shot and a guy who's floor is a little higher, but with still a very high projectable ceiling. Someone that you can trust will absorb the game well in these conditions. You have guys around that know the game - Sid, Guentzel, etc. you want to make sure there's a player out there with enough hockey sense to maximize who he is gonna be around...

Draft the best player available, regardless of position