| Yegor Graf | SKA 1946 St. Petersburg | MHL | R | LW | 5’10” | 174 | Barnaul, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Graf looked better in this one than he has in my past few viewings. He is a skilled player but his lack of consistent effort continues to frustrate me. He is a bit complacent with the puck and seems to be a bit nervous when contested. There was on specific time when he was immediately pressed after receiving a pass on a zone entry. He didn’t put up much of a fight in his attempts to escape and basically handed the puck over to his opponent. Another complaint I have about his game comes from his forecheck effort. He gets to the right spots and is often involved in battles but does not give it his all and very rarely comes away with control. He does not make it very difficult for opponents to break past him along the boards. Yegor showed off a couple of nice plays in the OZ where he circled around and evaded pokes with quick fakes. He was able to set up a couple of chances with HD passes to the far side of the ice but nothing came from them. His pass accuracy has not been very good this season and often over/under passes causing his team to lose control and miss out on some great opportunities. He shows flashes of skill here and there but until he decides to give it his all on every shift and attempt to generate offense with his skill and smarts, he is going to continue to be a mediocre player in my opinion. I think he has enough skill to get drafted (and likely will) but the lack of consistent effort causes concern for me.
| Matvei Korotky | SKA 1946 St. Petersburg | MHL | R | C | 5’11” | 170 | Krasnoyarsk, RUS | 2005 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Game Grade: A-
Comments: Another fantastic performance from Korotky as he finished with 2G and danced around AKM all night. His speed and acceleration are tremendous and allow him to blow past just about every defender at the MHL level. He has very skilled hands that he uses to exploit defenders and to escape from very tight situations. He is very confident on the rush and pushes pace past opponents to jump into open space. Matvei wants to be the guy that controls possession and sets up plays in all areas of the ice. He has the puck on his stick often and he uses his smarts to create scoring chances for his teammates with well timed passes. One in particular came in the third period on an odd man rush. He tried to push wide but the defender was able to stick with him. Matvei executed a perfectly timed drop pass to his trailing teammate who was able to set up a play from the slot. He showed off great awareness and problem solving ability on this play. Korotky’s first goal opened up the scoring early in the second period. He picked up a loose puck at the top of the circles and executed a brilliant toe drag into shot move around a defender and was able to snipe top shelf, bar down, from distance, all in one fluid motion. This was a well executed play and another great example of his skill and quick decision making ability in the form of a highlight reel goal. His second goal came late in the third when he found a rebound and buried it into an open cage. Matvei also shows off some great effort in the defensive zone and on the forecheck. He uses his speed to take away time and space from opponents and force turnovers. Sometimes he pulls back a bit too early or does not attack with full force but for the most part he does good work without the puck. Korotky continues to impress me in each viewing and I definitely think he is worth a pick in June.
| Sevastian Kapchuk | SKA 1946 St. Petersburg | MHL | L | RW | 5’9″ | 150 | St. Petersburg, RUS | 2005 | Not yet rated |
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Kapchuk has not had the best statistical start to his draft year as he only has one assist in 13 games but I think there is more to his game that has not been unlocked yet. Sevastian might be one of the best puck protectors I have seen and is nearly impossible to strip of possession. He moves around with great speed and positions his body perfectly between his man and the puck. To go along with this perfect body positioning, he has great handling ability and is able to dangle his way out of just about every situation. Even in very high pressure situations with multiple defenders applying pokes/checks, Kapchuk is able to maintain possession and fight his way out nearly every single time. He shows a ton of effort in each board battle and comes away with the puck often. Kapchuk also showed off some great speed and confidence in transition. He is a speedy player and forced his way into the OZ with control multiple times. The main issue/reason he does not have many points to show for his effort is his lack of understanding of what to do with the puck once he gets to space. He does not see open teammates well and rarely takes risks to attempt to set up players for scoring chances. He often passes to the nearest man which does not develop into anything. Sevastian has a ton of skill and shows great effort in his puck protection and controlling abilities but needs to improve his IQ in the OZ to learn to impact the game on the scoresheet.
Scout: Henry Lawrence