| Danila Kulikov | Amurskie Tigry Khabarovsk | MHL | L | C | 5’10” | 174 | Yaroslavl, RUS | 2004 | Not yet rated |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Kulikov was the best player on the ice for Amurskie tonight and it wasn’t close. His stat sheet does not reflect his efforts, only tallying one secondary assist, but he was flying out there and generated a ton of opportunities with his elite puck handling skills. He has insanely quick hands that he uses very well to keep the puck away from pressure. He makes quick cuts and is very light on his feet. He plays at a high pace and makes it very difficult for the opposition to keep up with him. His passing ability is very high end as well. He makes lightning fast decisions and fires passes off of his blade just as quickly as they come to him. This made Danila a PP asset as he can quickly snap the puck around and keep the penalty killers guessing where he will move it next. He also showed an ability to manipulate defensemen to set up his teammates. He cut towards opponents with the puck, drawing them toward him before slipping a well timed pass to an open man or dropping it behind for a cutting teammate to skate into. Kulikov was buzzing tonight and could have easily picked up a few more points. He is an undersized 19 year old and will likely never see North American ice, but if he continues to play at the pace he did tonight he has the potential to make Amur’s KHL roster someday.
| Arseni Ilyin | SKA-Yunior Krasnogorsk | MHL | L | RW | 6’1″ | 181 | Petrozavodsk, RUS | 2007 |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Arseni Ilyin is a name that everybody needs to take note of today because he is going to be the next Russian star to come out of the St. Petersburg system. At 15 years old he has earned a spot in the MHL and has been able to put up great numbers thus far. It is very rare for a player to make it to the MHL at 16 let alone a December birthday 15 year old. Ilyin is a very skilled player. He has shown off high end hands and is able to beat opponents 1v1 pretty easily. He shows glimpses of confidence in which is able to pull off insanely difficult moves. One in particular he pulled off the Patrick Kane punch turn spin-o-rama on the rush and attempted to hit a teammate in the slot with a pass at the peak of his spin. He was able to possess the puck for a good amount of time and was not afraid to involve himself in the play. He is going to need a ton of work before he can become a dominant player in the MHL though. He doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing with the puck at this level and is obviously still getting used to the MHL game where he is not able to skate through entire teams like he was able to at lower levels. He was unable to drive the puck inside and stayed along the boards a majority of the time with the puck. His decision making was poor and often threw the puck away or fired a low percentage shot because he did not know what else to do. Ilyin is a major project and is going to take a year or two to develop into an elite talent. He has the size, skill, speed, and time to develop into a high end draft pick. I can’t wait to see what he is able to do over the next few seasons.
| German Suzdorf | SKA-Yunior Krasnogorsk | MHL | L | C | 6’4″ | 192 | Yeysk, RUS | 2007 | 2024-2025: B |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: 16 year old Suzdorf had another reasonably impressive game tonight. I was very impressed with his penalty killing effort in my last viewing and he brought the same energy here tonight. He forces opponents to the outside and is able to shut down opportunities with good angles and an active stick. I really liked his effort on the forecheck as well. He applied solid pressure all night and made it difficult to be out on the ice with him. German still needs a lot of work. He is not a very efficient skater, his hands are not effective, and his shot is pretty weak. He has the right idea with many of his decisions but needs to improve just about every aspect of his game to make a true positive impact for his team.
| Daniil Anatsky | SKA-Yunior Krasnogorsk | MHL | L | C | 6’3″ | 214 | Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B |
Game Grade: B
Comments: Anatsky is a big body with a powerful stride and good playmaking ability. He has had a great start to his draft year, scoring over a point per game so far. For 6’2 192lbs, he can move up ice with good speed. He has a powerful stride that allows him to cover a lot of ground quickly. He is a pass first player and is constantly scanning the ice for open options. He uses his skilled hands to create enough space to execute passes and attempts a ton of high danger passes in the OZ and transition. There were multiple times this game when he entered the zone with possession and threaded passes through multiple defenders in an attempt to hit teammates cutting back door. He has the size, skill, and playmaking ability to impact the game at a professional level. If he can improve his pace and apply more pressure without the puck, Anatsky has the potential to be a name called in the later rounds of the 2024 draft.
| Nikita Surayev | SKA-Yunior Krasnogorsk | MHL | L | RW | 5’10” | 150 | Karaganda, KAZ | 2005 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: A-
Comments: Though the game did not go the way he wanted it to, Surayev dominated all night. He is a skilled and speedy forward that is able to protect the puck and drive play towards the goal. He uses his hands and edges to open his hips and keep his body between the puck and defender. He makes quick cuts in all directions to shake off pressure and is able to combine his skating ability with quick stick handles to keep the puck out of reach. He transitions the puck with speed and is constantly scanning to find the open teammate with the best chance of getting a shot on goal. He makes hard crisp passes up ice and is able to exploit tiny lanes to hit teammates cross ice for dangerous chances. In the OZ he circles around the outside while making constant scans of the ice to find pass options and space to cut into with the puck. Surayev has a heavy wrister and was able to let it rip many times during today’s match. He scored the lone goal for Yunior on the powerplay when he crashed the net, found the loose puck through a sea of bodies and finished in tight. Surayev is an incredibly skilled player that keeps his pace high and can create tons of chances in the OZ and transition. He will very likely be chosen in June and will be a great asset to whichever team submits his name.
Logo Courtesy of SKA-Yunior Krasnogorsk
Player evaluations: Henry Lawrence