| Anton Silayev | Nizhny Novgorod | KHL | R | D | 6’6″ | 202 | Sarov, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B |
Game Grade: B
Comments: We have been up and down on Silayev so far this season but thought he played a good game tonight. He was much more responsible defensively than we have seen in other games this season. He was much more calculated when he chose to step on opponents and executed well timed pokes to attempt to shut down play. One play in particular, he saw his opponent in a vulnerable position with their back turned to him while receiving a pass and Silayev jumped on top of him to break up the chance with his stick. He also showed an ability to back off from his step ups which we had not seen previously. In the past he over committed to defensive plays and often got burnt when they did not work. Tonight he was aware of when situations were about to go south, and quickly backed off and got back into position. This is a very responsible IQ trait that he seems to be working on and if he can keep this up, our concerns about his defensive decision making will slowly be resolved. He attempted to shut down plays in defensive transition with a surf towards the boards but struggled with his timing and would have gotten burnt if he had been 1v1 with a quicker opponent. He needs to fix the angle that he attacks the forward with as he ended up behind the player on the two occasions we took note of. Offensively he had an ok game. He made a couple of nice breakout passes and was more patient with the puck than we saw in our last viewing. There were still a number of times where he rushed passes or shots into covered lanes. There was one activation where he jumped high into the NZ and received a pass. He had the opportunity to beat the defender 1v1 if he had made a quick burst of speed to the outside but held up and decided to go heel to heel while scanning for a pass. This took away all of his options and he was forced to throw a poor pass attempt towards the slot. We noticed a ton of improvement in his decision making ability on both sides of the puck but overall he still needs a lot of work. We were much happier with this viewing of Silayev and think he shows more potential to be a lottery pick in this year’s draft than we had previously given him credit for. He is definitely a risk but the potential payout could be huge.
| Nikita Artamonov | Nizhny Novgorod | KHL | L | RW | 5’11” | 183 | Nizhnekamsk, RUS | 2005 | 2023-2024: B- |
Game Grade: A-
Comments: Artamanov had an impressive game tonight and was responsible for creating a high percentage of the scoring chances for Nizhny-Novgorod. He is very calm with the puck on his stick and was able to complete a number of high danger passes to the slot after entering the zone along the boards. He has great vision and was able to find teammates cutting into dangerous spaces around the goal and attempt to hit them with a pass on time and often through heavy traffic. He is confident with the puck and able to carry it up ice effectively. He is not the most skilled player in the world but is very responsible in the way that he chooses lanes to exploit and attempt passes up ice rather than force his way through the whole team. He is able to protect the puck well with spins/cuts towards the boards and keeps his head up to continue possession for his team rather than try to be a hero. One of our favorite plays from him during this game came in the third period. He jumped up ice on the rush and opened up to receive a pass. The pass came a bit late to him and he had already made it to the OZBL. He opened his hips and pivoted backwards to catch the pass, putting his body between the defender and puck, then spun towards the boards and accelerated past his opponent. This was a great play to control a tricky pass and protect it in a tight situation. He was able to walk in along the boards and place a pass on the stick of his teammate who was able to take one of the most dangerous chances for Torpedo in this game. He works hard on the forecheck and is able to apply good pressure to force rushed decisions from his opponents. He picks up speed well and can accelerate to a high pace very quickly. Artamanov is not a high end skill guy but is very responsible with the puck and will be able to add good contributions to an NHL team through his playmaking and motor abilities.
Logo Courtesy of Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Player Evaluations: Henry Lawrence