Saginaw’s first round pick in the 2019 OHL import draft, Solovyov hails from Belarus and was an excellent find for Saginaw. He is an efficient skater with a good first step and at 6’2 he has great length and reach, but lets learn more about how his game translates to the next level.
Ilya Solovyov (4.25 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C+) Defense
(1) Brain – Ilya has made a smooth transition to the North American game. It’s obvious that he reads rushes and matches speeds well while defending a line rush, but he also looks into the second layer of attackers and communicates well with his back-checkers. This may seem simple, but again this is his first year in North America and having the confidence and wherewithal to communicate while defending line rushes is a very good sign.
(2) Vision & Poise – He is at his best when he moves the puck quickly, but he does have the puck skills to jump into offensive line rushes and be an asset. Most European defenders have poise during neutral zone regroups and Ilya is no exception.
(3) Feet – He has good top speed, but we feel he will need to continue improving his explosiveness to be effective at higher levels while shutting down the cycle. He moves well laterally while pinching off even numbered line rushes.
(4) Compete & Effort – Ilya consistently plays hard.
(5) Contact or Physicality – He is physically mature and at times can dominate players at this level.
(6) Release – He has a rocket and can get it off quickly.
(7) One Timer Ability – Again, Ilya has a rocket. He does not need a perfect pass to be effective.
(8) Body Language – We only note extremes, but he appears to be a player that his teammates look to when things need to be settled down.
(9) Special Teams Potential – He has the puck skills, skating ability and awareness to play in all game situations as a professional.
(10) Intangibles – Ilya is a 2000 birth year playing in his rookie OHL season. Although his maturity can be seen as both a positive and a negative, we have seen other players struggle during their first season playing North American hockey and Ilya has made it look easy.