MHL – A mid week game where the home HC Stalnye Lisy defeated HC Mamonty Yugry 4-2. Neutral Zone focused on 2024 first year NHL draft eligible players.
| Artur Faizov | Mamonty Yugry | MHL | L | C | 6’1″ | 183 | Sterlitamak, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Faizov is a 6’1′, 185lbs left shot forward who took shifts at both wing and center. He showed a fluid stride, the ability to accelerate in one hard stride while already moving at 3/4 speed with the edge control to stop on a dime and be at full speed in other direction after a hard inside edge push-crossunder combination. He took direct routes to loose pucks and was more than willing to stick his nose into a scrum to win the battle. Offensively he showed good timing when swinging through the middle ice looking to receive a breakout pass or neutral zone transition and the puck did not slow him down. He had one shot on net that came on a line rush where he faked hard to his backhand and then fired a 12′ snap shot through the defender’s legs. The snap shot looked to have caught the goaltender off guard and created a net secondary opportunity. On the night he finished even with 0 points, 1 shot, 4 PIMs for a high stick, 2/7 on faceoffs and had 0 hits. He finished eighth among forwards with 14:07 in total ice time including 1:13 on the power play and 1:20 while shorthanded. He currently has a ‘B’ 2024 NHL draft grade from Neutral Zone.
| Alexander Shen | Mamonty Yugry | MHL | R | LW | 6’0″ | 191 | Nizhnevartovsk, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B- |
Game Grade: A-
Comments: Shen is a thickly built left shot forward who played primarily right wing. He showed strength by using his shoulder width skating base to bull into opponents looking to knock them off the puck. He finished the night with a goal and a primary assist. The goal came on an individual effort where he broke free to generate a 1 on 1. As a lefty he cut laterally to his left through the royal road faking back to his right before quick sticking a snapshot through the defenseman’s legs. The goalie made the initial save but Plesovskikh drove passed the defenseman looking for the rebound and fired a rocket up under the bar for the goal. His assist came after winning a net front battle for a rebound and poking the puck to his linemate. Both his goal and his helper showed the type of quality second effort that is needed to play in the NHL. He finished +2 with a goal, an assist, a game high 7 shots, game high 4 grade “A” scoring opportunities, went 5/7 on face-offs, a game high 4 hits and had 1 shot blocked. Shen is currently has a “B-” 2024 NHL draft grade from Neutral Zone.
| Alexander Plesovskikh | Mamonty Yugry | MHL | R | C | 6’1″ | 172 | Tyumen, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B- |
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Plesovskikh is a rangy right shot forward who played primarily left wing. He showed nice spatial awareness by not getting himself trapped along the walls during strong side offensive transition which allowed him to handle poor indirect passes with either his forehand or backhand and still keep possession of the puck. He showed a shoulder width skating base with a bit of an upright posture and quick 3/4 length strides but we feel his stride will lengthen as he gains core strength. Offensively he finished the game with four shots on goal with two of those opportunities coming after he won a wall battle to then attack the net. The third shot was a power play old school slapshot from the right dot lane and the forth came on a line rush where he recognized a strong middle drive so he fired an 8′ snapshot off the far pad to create net front chaos. On the night he finished tenth among forwards with 12:55 in total ice time including 1:09 on the power play and 2:31 while shorthanded. He finished even, went 1/2 on face-offs, had 1 hit, received 1 hard hit and had 1 shot blocked. At this point in the season Neutral Zone has Plesovskikh as a ‘B-‘ rated 2024 NHL draft grade.
| Filipp Potapov | Mamonty Yugry | MHL | L | D | 6’4″ | 179 | Saratov, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Why he should be a draft pick: He is 6’4′ (maybe taller) and he has a skating posture that will allow him to carry more weight while potentially gaining speed and quickness. Offensively he does not over complicate things. He will be an asset to the penalty kill unit. Why not: He is a 6’4′ defender who has never represented Russia in an International competition. He is limited offensively. Potapov is a long left defender with an athletic shoulder width skating base who plays with his toes-knees-shoulders all aligned. Offensively he played a very simple straight forward game and understood that the glass was his friend when he was in trouble. He was on for one goal for and two goals against with the first coming after he stepped up and missed on an open ice hit in the neutral zone. In general it was an ill-advised step up but it really hurt because Mamonty Yugry had spent the previous 20 seconds controlling play and creating opportunities while cycling in the offensive zone. The second goal against came off an even man line rush where he was the weakside defender. On the play his backchecking forward over pursued the puck carrier which allowed him to make a 12′ pass into the slot where Potapov was tasked to defend a 2 on 1 from the tops of the circles. He chose to pressure the puck carrier who dished to his left where the goal scorer had an open net. It may be nitpicking but we feel Potapov should have shaded to the eventual goal scorer because the primary assist earner was dead center of the royal road and he would have had to beat the goalie cleanly with a catch and release snapshot. The goal for came after he won a foot race to a loose puck in the neutral zone and then used the boards for an indirect that got two opposing forwards trapped above the puck. He did not earn an assist on the play but it was the type of play that NHL defensemen need to make every game. On the night he finished forth among his teams defenders with 17:33 of total ice time including leading the team in short handed minutes with 4:52.