VHL: Almetievsk at Krylia

Game Grade: C+

Comments: The reason I watched this game today was to check up on the progress of Kol. I liked his play in the MHL earlier this year and he earned himself a spot with the Omsk Wings in the VHL. Even though Timur picked up a tying goal in the third period, I was very unimpressed with his performance tonight. He looked lost defensively and was very timid in his decision making in the DZ. He looked a step slow out there and was very easily drawn out of position. There were many times where he ended up high along the boards and even out at the points on multiple occasions. He just looked very unconfident and was slow in his reactions to help stop plays. It wasn’t all bad though. He was able to shut down a few plays with checks along the boards. One in particular he timed a cut behind the net perfectly with the opponent’s movements. He pinched him off with a perfect angle and shut down play with a strong check. Offensively there were a few bright spots but overall his decision making was very poor. He rushed just about every pass attempt, throwing the puck off his stick (without looking) seconds after receiving it. There were far too many times where he just cleared the puck up ice without checking his surroundings and lost possession for his team. He made a couple of nice breakout passes but most missed their targets or did not have a target at all. Another thing that stood out was his posture. He stands straight up with no knee bend and gives himself no leverage to battle opponents. His edgework is smooth at times but isn’t able to generate much power due to his stance. His goal came late in the third to tie the game at 2. He fired a solid shot on goal through heavy traffic and beat the goalie who could not see past the sea of bodies. Timur has a lot to work on and I have dropped him far down my list. He needs to bring much more energy and needs to be more confident, patient, and proactive in all of his decision making to take his game to a higher level. He might benefit from a demotion back down to the MHL.