Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments following Team Russia’s gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup
August 13, 2021
| Artyom Duda | Russia U18 | International | L | D | 6’0″ | 172 | Moscow, RUS | 2004 | 2021-2022: B |
#8 Team Russia – The left shot defender played primarily the right side on arguably Team Russia’s top pairing with Vladislav Sapunov. His game is strong, steady and from a coach’s point of view very reliable. In the defensive zone his ability to maintain net side positioning while battling along the walls is really extraordinary. His edgework and body control allow him to twist and spin off of contact so that he seems to always be in the perfect spot to protect his net. While battling his hips are low, his base is wide and his shoulders are high. In transition he constantly uses early pre-pass shoulder checks to locate all three of his opponent’s forwards and to make sure the strong side defenseman isn’t in a position to pinch. Duda has a nice easy first touch and he handles poor passes very well, especially when collecting bouncing pucks out from his feet. Offensively he didn’t earn much power play time and finished with just two assists for the high flying Russians, but I don’t think that tells his complete offensive story. What I noticed and took as a real positive was how much 5 on 5 ice time he was on with the Hlinka’s leading scorer, Matvei Michkov. This shows me that Duda understands timing and spacing. Particularly how to create space for his forwards by looking one way and moving the puck the other, by retreating to create a lane or attacking a lane by moving his feet only to draw two opponents to him there by creating odd man situations for his teammates. Deception seems easy, but pay attention to how many players stare at their target before releasing the pass or God forbid skating directly at the person you’re going to pass to. There’s no doubt that high end offensive players want the puck, but they certainly don’t want to be receiving the puck when there’s an opponent in their face. Truthfully there’s really no one particular part of his game that jumps out at you and makes you say wow, but he consistently makes the right play and that is what makes an NHLer.
| Vladislav Sapunov | Dynamo Moskva | KHL | R | D | 6’0″ | 165 | Voronezh, RUS | 2004 | 2021-2022: B |
#27 Team Russia – Although he finished with zero points in the tournament Sapunov is much more of a free lancer than his primary partner Artyom Duda. So much so that in the finals versus Slovakia he had a breakaway out of defensive zone coverage. He literally forced an Slovak forward high into the zone causing a turnover and he just kept on going into the neutral zone looking for the outlet from his winger. He is a right shot defender who plays the left side, but can easily switch to the right when needed. In the defensive zone or when short handed, Sapunov plays in straight lines with his stick on the ice. His head is on a swivel locating the next pass while always showing the willingness to line up with the one timer so he can eat pucks. In offensive transition his passes were crisp and he consistently located the center option when exiting the defensive zone or during a neutral zone regroup. Against Sweden in the semifinals there were multiple times where Sapunov corralled a bouncing puck in the neutral zone, quickly pulling the puck from his forehand to his backhand as he showed the puck skills to hit his streaking forward in stride to advance the puck quickly with a backhand pass. In defensive transition he did an excellent job of matching speeds with the his opponent’s regrouping forwards and when there was a quick turnover at the offensive blueline he had always hustled up the ice so his gaps were tight and their options were limited. Supunov liked to be involved in the action in the offensive zone. He might not have received many outlets, but he activated on scissor plays and opened up for the one timer in the high slot. He’s another defender who didn’t earn much power play time, but he was a constant presence while shorthanded.
| Artyom Barabosha | Russia U18 | International | R | D | 6’2″ | 187 | Omsk, RUS | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
#28 Team Russia – As his size would indicate Barabosha is big and strong. What it doesn’t tell you is that he shows athleticism with smooth lateral movement and that he enjoys running into people. In all situations he plays a simple straight forward game. In offensive situations or transition the puck does not stay on his stick long. He moves it to the open man without over handling it and he rarely tries to do too much. Barabosha was a key member to Team Russia’s penalty kill unit and in the semifinals versus Team Sweden he was second on the defensive core with 2:59 minutes played out of a possible 7:24 minutes the team was short handed. And in the quarter finals versus Team Czech Republic out of a possible 7:54 minutes of short handed play Barabosha was on the ice for 4:29 of it. From a coach’s point of view he is willing to do the things that matter. The little things that don’t end up on the score sheet, but end up in the wins total. He blocks shots. He’s willing to let an opposing player take a run at him when he’s in a vulnerable position so he can get a defensive zone clear. He protected Team Russia’s net with pride and passion. He looked like a player I would love to have as a teammate and it was obvious that his teammates loved him from their response to his goal against Team Switzerland.
| Kirill Kudryavtsev | Russia U18 | International | L | D | 5’11” | 185 | Soo Greyhounds | 2021 | Yaroslavl | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
#5 Team Russia – Kudryavtsev is a left shot defenseman who plays the right side. He has an explosive first step and nice powerful stride that he used to shut down the opposing team’s cycling very quickly. He initiates body contact with his stick on the puck while keeping his hips low and his head up. There were times against Sweden where the opposing forwards seemed to bounce off of his initial body contact, but his posture and strong core allowed him to continue on to pin the forward to the wall. Kudryavtsev likes to jump up into the play as an extra attacker. He showed an understanding of offensive spacing by recognizing if he was the third man or forth man in the attack by adjusting his skating to move to the width of the dot lane or maintaining his pace. There were times when he would activate and stay low in the offensive zone acting as a forward. He would actually get involved in the cycle expecting a forward to cover his point for extended periods of the shift. He’s heading to the Ontario Hockey League to play for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds so hopefully we will be seeing Kudryavtsev play a lot this year.
| Andrei Malyavin | Russia U18 | International | L | D | 5’10” | 150 | Sarnia Sting | 2021 | Voronezh, RUS | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
#26 Team Russia – Malyavin is always thinking offense and looking to activate. He has a combination of puck poise, Crosby like mohawk edge control and a powerful long stride that allows him to pull opponents to him only to quickly change direction and leave them behind. Below the defensive goal line it was a regular occurrence to see Malyavin welcome a forechecker onto his back, he would then execute a subtle jab step to change the direction of his toe caps and he would leave the forechecker behind. He is a very smooth skater who almost looks as if he’s able to move faster when the puck is on his tape. In the defensive zone Malyavin is looking to pick off passes and create offense so he can wander a bit, but his easily generated foot speed allows him to close on puck carriers quickly. During the Hlinka Gretzky he played in all situations and finished the tournament +6 with 1 helper and a highlight goal that was a pure display of everything that we described above, but he was walking along the offensive blue line. Malyavin is heading to play for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting this year and it will be exciting to watch his continued development.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Game Stats are from InStat.