MHL – Neutral Zone focused on first year draft eligible players Ildar Nafigin, Timofei Zhulin, Nikita Onishko, Timur Kol and Danila Sysoyev.
| Ildar Nafigin | Irbis Kazan | MHL | L | D | 6’2″ | 181 | Nurlat, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: B
Comments: He wore #79. Nafigin is a long lanky left shot defender who played the left side. He showed an inside edge upright chest high-hips low skating posture and he really seemed to sit back while skating backwards. While defending line rushes he showed good patience and did an excellent job of directing his backcheckers to where he wanted them to go but one thing to keep an eye on is he crossed his feet while pivoting. He skates well enough to have this bad habit corrected. Offensively Nafigin kept things simple and went with his first passing option and we liked how he was willing to take a hit to make a play especially below his goal line. During wall battles or scrums he kept his hips low using his inside edges to push opponents into the walls and then he used a quick stick to win the loose puck. With the exception of having a game high 9 takeaways that led to clean breakouts he played the type of defense first nondescript game that professional coaches love to have at their disposal. On the night he finished even totaling 18:32 of total ice time including 1:25 on the penalty kill, with 2 hits, received 1 hard hit, with 4 giveaways and 9 take aways. Neutral Zone currently has Nafigin rated as a ‘C’ 2024 NHL draft prospect
| Timofei Zhulin | Irbis Kazan | MHL | R | C | 5’11” | 168 | Pavlovo, RUS | 2005 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Zuhlin is a hard charging slightly undersized right shot right wing who looked to finish his check or make body contact as often as possible. On face-offs he was well prepared to set a pick on a win or to blow-up his opponent’s pick on a loss. He played the game with two hands on his stick showing a shoulder width skating base with a powerful full length stride and a flat edge return leg. During both offensive and defensive transition we liked how he stopped on pucks and faced the play so he was ready to receive a pass or break-up a play when possible. Zuhlin showed good hand strength while battling and soft first touch when handling passes at top speed. In the offensive zone he was constantly around the puck looking win battles and then use his powerful skating base to bring the puck to the crease. On the night he was second among forwards with 19:21 in total ice time including 0:54 on the power play and was second on his team with 3:08 while shorthanded. He finished the game even with 0 points, 1 shot, 1 grade ‘A’, went 2/3 on face-offs, had 2 hits, had 1 shot blocked, had 5 giveaways and was second among Irbis forwards with 6 takeaways. Neutral Zone has the late 2005 as a ‘C+’ rated 2024 Draft prospect.
| Nikita Onishko | Irbis Kazan | MHL | L | C | 6’2″ | 176 | Almetievsk, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B- |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Onishko is a big powerful left shot center with quick powerful strides and a bit of an ‘A frame’ skating base. He showed good awareness away from the puck as he recognized where his linemates were and did not blindly chase the puck or get himself out of position defensively. Offensively he used his body well to protect the puck and he showed nice deception by taking an extended look in one direction before quickly moving the puck in a wide dribble and using his inside edge to explode laterally away from from his opponent. He cleanly handled hard passes while at top speed and showed the puck skills to one-touch passes to his linemate’s tape. On the night he totaled 16:33 of ice time including 1:06 on the power play and a team high of 3:34 while shorthanded. His power play ice time opportunity came five minutes into the third period it did not go well as he overhandled the puck looking to make the perfect play exposing it to the defender who cleanly knocked the puck down the ice essentially ending the power play in a tie game. He finished the night even with 0 points, 1 shot, 1 grade ‘A’, he received 3 hard hits, had 1 shot blocked, had 2 giveaways and 1 takeaway. Onishko size, strength and awareness away from the puck have him starting his draft year with a ‘B-‘ 2024 NHL draft grade but we will need to see more offensively for that grade to remain there.
| Timur Kol | Omskie Yastreby | MHL | L | D | 6’3″ | 198 | Moskva, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Kol is a thickly built defensive minded left shot defenseman with good straight line speed and a strong full leg length stride. By saying defensive minded we don’t mean that he sits back waiting for the play to come to him as a passenger because in all reality he is very active without the puck working to be a passing outlet or to cause confusion among his opponents by flying up the ice whenever possible. In his end he sorted out picks and scissors quickly and showed the strength to slam opponents to the wall pinning them there to end the cycle. We liked that he did not allow himself to get trapped along the wall while battling and showed a nice smooth low heel to heel pivot while maintaining net side positioning. Kol finished the night +1 with 0 points, he had 2 shots, 1 grade ‘A’ opportunity, 1 hit, with 3 giveaways and 7 takeaways. On thing to really keep an eye on is that he had 4 point shots blocked with one leading to a clean 2 on 1 heading the other way and another leading to clean breakout that led to defensive zone time. While we like Kol’s compete and overall game enthusiasm, he currently has a ‘C+’ Neutral Zone 2024 NHL draft grade but this grade will have to be lowered if he continues to have point shots blocked.
| Danila Sysoyev | Omskie Yastreby | MHL | R | LW | 5’10” | 179 | Achinsk, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Sysoyev is a slightly undersized right shot forward who plays the left wing. When pushing the pace in offensive transition he showed very good straight line speed and the ability to maintain his speed through contact. He handled poor passes without slowing down and had a soft first touch that allowed him to have a sweeping wrister that was difficult for the opposing goaltender to read. He played with a shooter’s mentality and when entering the offensive zone he adjusted his pace, width and depth with the sole intention on getting a shooting opportunity. He was fifth among his team’s forwards with 18:53 of time on ice including having 3:05 in powerplay ice time which was two seconds off the team lead of 3:07. He did not kill penalties. He finished the game -1 with 0 points, 1 shot, 3 grade “A” opportunities, 0/1 on face-offs, received 1 hard hit, had 3 shots blocked with 1 on the power play that led directly to a zone exit, 3 giveaways and 4 takeaways. He currently has a “B” 2024 draft grade.