| Timofei Zhulin | Irbis Kazan | MHL | R | C | 5’11” | 168 | Pavlovo, RUS | 2005 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Game Grade: A-
Comments: Zhulin was the best all around player from tonight’s game. Neutral Zone’s MHL scout feels he is one of the better Russian players in the 2024 draft class. He continues to improve game after game and his strengths were on full display tonight. He has a very smooth and powerful stride that he uses to cover an insane amount of ice. He plays hard on both ends and is a strong transition player. He has the puck on his stick often and is able to push play up ice, complete tons of controlled zone entries, and make hard pushes from the outside in, to generate scoring chances. One of his best plays from tonight’s game was on his goal in the second period. He moved into open space in the neutral zone to support his teammate, accepted a pass and accelerated hard into the offensive zone, then he made a hard cut to the slot where he fumbled the puck off of a defenseman’s skate and it trickled in. The actual moment the puck went in was not pretty but the play leading up to it was a smart, calculated effort that led to a great chance he was rewarded for with a lucky bounce. Zhulin’s work off of the puck is one of the best assets to his game. He is constantly searching for quality space and provides great support for teammates with the puck. He is always in motion and is able to find soft areas to sneak into and open up to provide a pass option. We also really liked his movement in the neutral zone to support transition. He made smart loops back towards his own zone to provide a passing option for his regrouping defenseman while also generating speed to transport the puck himself. He makes his teammates live’s much easier with quick decision making and passing to set up high quality scoring chances. He is very composed under tight pressure and was able to execute many difficult passes with tight forechecking and contact being applied to him. Defensively he plays a positionally sound game. He uses his speed to keep up with his man and applies harassing pressure on the forecheck with an active stick. He was given important penalty kill time which he ate up and killed with ease. One of his best defensive plays came while shorthanded where he backchecked hard, using his powerful stride to catch up to a puck carrier, then took a perfect angle to seal his man into the boards with a strong check and force a turnover. Zhulin has proven himself to be a very efficient two way player with lots more offensive upside than he has shown thus far. Neutral Zone feels his point totals do not reflect his offensive IQ or abilities and should increase very soon. GM’s should take a close look at Zhulin’s game as he has the potential to be a late round steal and fan favorite work horse for years to come.
| Askar Kamalov | Irbis Kazan | MHL | L | C | 5’9″ | 151 | Kazan, RUS | 2007 | 2024-2025: B |
Game Grade: B-
Comments: For such a young April 2007 Neutral Zone was very impressed with Askar’s game tonight. He is a bit undersized but did not let that stop him from making an impression in a great game. He worked hard on both ends of the ice and showed off a great defensive ability. He earned penalty kill time and was a dog when shutting down opponents chances. He made continuous scans of the zone to make sure he was on top of all cutting players. He had an active stick and was engaged in battles which forced multiple turnovers and clears. Offensively he was able to generate a few chances on the rush. He showed off quick feet and powered through a defender to the net for a chance on goal. He was able to pick up the game winner early in the third as well. He received a pass on the blueline and made an abrupt cut and shift to his strong side, then fired a hard wrister into traffic which slipped through all roadblocks into the back of the cage. As Askar develops strength, power, explosiveness and hopefully a bit more height, he could become a fantastic two way forward with North American styled upside.