| Nikita Rakcheyev, | MHK Spartak Moskva | MHL | L | RW | 6’3″ | 198 | Orenburg, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: C |
Game Grade: C+
Comments: The best young Spartak player from tonight’s game. He is a tall and lanky 2024 NHL Draft eligible that provided good energy and effort all night. We first noticed him on the forecheck when he pressured his man into a turnover. He needs to add a lot of weight as he was easily knocked off the puck. However, he was not afraid to play the body and was pretty physical tonight. He is a bit awkward handling the puck but showed off a couple of quick stick handles around the defenseman in transition. Very unlikely to be picked in the draft but could be a player to draft in the late rounds and watch as he develops over the next few season
| Vadim Dudorov | Loko Yaroslavl MHL | MHL | L | C | 5’11” | 185 | Sarov, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B- |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: Solid work from Dudorov on the top line tonight. He worked hard and applied good pressure on opponents with the puck. He forced a couple of turnovers and was able to quickly turn pucks in the other direction. We liked his ability to handle the puck in tight situations and he made smart timely passes to teammates. His backcheck effort was great tonight, always pushing himself hard down ice and making opponents uncomfortable. Not the most skilled player but solid effort filled performance tonight.
| Yegor Surin | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | KHL | L | C | 6’1″ | 176 | Voronezh, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B+ |
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Surin showed the same energy and motor on both the forecheck and backcheck that earned him praise in Neutral Zone’s last report. He pushed hard and made great pokes/lifts to steal pucks from opponents after hard work to catch up and apply pressure. He still has some trouble handling the puck. At times he is able to make shifty moves around defenders using his hands and edgework but often fumbled the puck and gave up a lot of turnovers due to trying to force the puck through opponents. His decision making with the puck needs to improve as well. He often skates himself into bad spots where he is easily closed off. He is a shoot first player without an elite shot and would benefit from scanning more often and making quicker pass decisions as well as utilizing his teammates rather than fire a shot into traffic. Still one of my favorite Russian born players this season.
| Roman Shokhrin | Loko Yaroslavl MHL | MHL | L | D | 6’4″ | 192 | Nizhny Novgorod, RUS | 2006 | 2023-2024: B- |
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Shokhrin showed off all of the great skating and calm escape work that we have seen over the past few months. We were impressed with how much ground he was able to cover at times during this game. There was one instance when he made a couple of powerful pushes and made it the whole length of the neutral zone, beating the puck and opponent who had a good lead in transition. He made quick passes to keep the puck moving but we would like to see more patience and effort when distributing the puck. We would also like to see him be a bit more aggressive on step ups. He was backed down multiple times on the rush and gave up a couple of good shots on goal.
Logo Courtesy of MHK Spartak Moskva
Player Evaluations: Henry Lawrence