| Ivan Guskov | AKM Tula | MHL | R | C | 5’11” | 172 | Moskva, RUS | 2002 | 2022-2023: Free Agent 2021-2022: C+ |
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran, February 13, 2023: Guskov plays with an incredible amount of confidence. On the offensive side it looks like he literally believes every shot he takes should end up in the net. I like the deception he shows on his snapshot as he has the ability to finish with a low snap of his stick blade, yet he can rip it up under the bar in a hurry. He also has the kind of first touch and release where he can fire a sweeping one-timer without lifting his blade off the ice. When he’s doing this Guskov leans heavily into the shaft of his stick to generate a full stick whip and then drives his bottom hand toward the target. It deceptively leaves the goalie guessing if he’s going to rip a one-timer or one touch a pass. I also like his ability to not only keep his feet moving shooting through defender’s legs, but he also keeps his hands moving. Guskov is not a one stickhandle and shoot guy. He keeps the puck moving, which keeps the goaltender guessing which in turn gets the goalie on his toes.. not the balls of his feet, his toes. Defensively is where we have our issues. He is a big loop and turn his back on the puck kind of player who has a tendency to look like he’s busy but in reality he’s poaching looking for his next loose puck. All in all his offensive production is up in 22/23 and he is playing at over a point per game pace and his plus/minus is better while playing in the same league (MHL), but his time on ice is down over 3 minutes per game, his face-off winning percentage is down 9%, his puck battle winning percentage is down 10% and his overall physicality is down too. I feel he could be a player who comes over and with the right Russian leadership situation Guskov is a guy who could really thrive in the transition game of today’s NHL, but there’s always the chance that you’d be signing a dog who only competes at one end of the ice. You can’t teach his offense so I’d be inclined to try him.
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran, June 9, 2022: Guskov is a gifted offensive player. He has the shooting ability to rip snapshots through the defender’s legs while his feet are moving. He also has the first touch to handle hard passes while at top speeds without bobbling them as well as being able to handle poor passes into his feet without having to look down for extended periods to make sure he has control. Guskov’s issues come when he is in defense or when his team does not have possession, as he is prone to turning his back on the puck while in his defensive zone and quite frankly he views every 50/50 puck as a 100% win for himself or his linemates. Again he is very gifted offensively and there is no doubt that he can make plays, but an NHL team will have to have a minor league coaching system that has the time to break some poor habits.
Neutral Zone NHL, July 4, 2022: Why an NHL draft pick, he is 5’11” 172 pounds and scored fifteen of his goals from within a few feet of the crease. He blossomed in 2021/22 by having more goals than he did total points in 2020/21. Why not an NHL draft pick, as a puck carrier, he leaves himself exposed and was on the receiving end of 1.27 hard body checks per game. He had more points in 2021/22 than he had in his previous two seasons in the MHL combined.