| Matvei Babenko | Tolpar Ufa | MHL | R | LW | 6’2″ | 194 | Ufa, RUS | 2005 | 2023-2024: C+ |
Game Grade: C+
Comments: This is now the third league we have seen Matvei play in and we still see the same concerning aspects to his game that we saw in both the KHL and MHL. His effort and engagement levels are far too low and he really does not do anything to make an impact on the game. He plays at a very slow pace and does not seem to be giving his best effort. He has bad habits with the puck and more often than not has his head down staring at his stick. He seemed to be unaware of his surroundings tonight and was easily stripped of possession and unable to move the puck for more than a few feet. He fumbled the puck often and was responsible for a large percentage of the turnovers for Toros in this game. In an MHL game we watched a few weeks ago, his shooting was his best trait but he was unable to get any good shots off today. He fires shots into blocked lanes without looking and is unable to adapt to situations if they change in front of him. One in particular, he wound up to shoot from the top of the circle and a defenseman stepped directly in front of him. He held the puck back for a few seconds and had plenty of time to move into a new lane or slide the puck to his defenseman but chose to stand flat footed and fire a weak shot right into the opponent’s shin pads. He threw passes with no intended target and missed wide open plays due to lack of attention/effort. His defensive effort was horrendous as well. He showed little care and mostly circled the zone with his stick in the air. His worst play of the night came in a race to a loose puck in the corner that he was closest to and could have easily won. Matvei made it to the puck first but skated over it, moved off to the side, and watched as an opponent picked it up and cut below the goal line. It was one of the laziest plays Neutral Zone NHL has seen all season and should not ever happen from a player considered to be a top prospect. This was our 4th or 5th time watching Babenko and we continue to become less and less impressed with each viewing. He had one good game in the MHL but even in that one he did not seem to give his full effort. If he played at full speed and gave it his all every shift he would be a fantastic player with skilled hands, a cannon shot, and the ability to power his way into space. We saw him do it for brief moments in the MHL but overall he lacks energy and does not show enough drive to want to play. If you think you can teach him discipline and the basics of hard work he might be worth the risk in a later round but the way he has played in each of my viewings so far has been incredibly underwhelming.
Scout: Henry Lawrence