Yegor Sidorov

Neutral Zone’s Ian Moran, March 13, 2023: The positives, well this is his second go around at being drafted and since the 2021/22 season it looks like Sidorov has not only grown, but has added strength and power. I like his skating posture and his stride looks like he can be going top speed and then all of a sudden he puts it into another gear without having to really change that posture. It’s just a good hard inside edge thrust and boom he’s created space. He has very strong hands and I like the way he’ll block out an opponent’s stick while digging, fighting or protecting the puck. His hands are quick and he has a good wide dribble, but what I’ve really noticed is how he has learned to prevent his opponent’s stick from getting clear access to the puck rather than trying a ridiculous toe drag at an inopportune time. I also like how he has an expanded pass receiving area. Meaning he can cleanly control poor passes into his feet or ones that are behind without the need to really break stride. I also love that he’s scoring even strength goals. Of his 40 goals so far this season 14 have come while on a 5on4 power play and 1 has come while the goalie has been pulled during 6on5 play. So up until this point he’s scored 25 even strength goals in 52 games. That’s pretty damn impressive for a team that has a total goal differential of 82. And another skill that translates to the pro game is that he’s scored 19 goals on quick stick one-timers. As I said early he knows how to cleanly control a poor pass and equally as important he has an expanded one-timer shooting zone. Up until this point he’s scored 63 goals in 110 Western Hockey League games. And for some of the things the drafting team will have to be aware of, Sidorov is still only winning 46% of his 50/50 puck battles. Yes he can score and yes his hands have gotten stronger, but the drafting team will need that area to improve. He also isn’t really used on the penalty kill unit, so does he score enough to be a scorer in the NHL? And if not does he have enough depth to his game to impact the team’s game in other areas? And yes he has certainly gotten bigger and stronger since last year, but he’s still leaving himself open to being on the receiving end of 1.16 hard body checks per game. This is a huge number and in professional hockey it usually leads to injuries and time in the training room. With all that said I thought he was a lower end “B-” draft prospect last year and this year I think he’s a higher end “B-” with a real chance to move higher with a good end to the season and playoffs.

Neutral Zone NHL draft evaluation, June 17, 2022: NHL Why a draft pick, during his first season in the WHL he recorded 23 goals in 58 games. 63% of his shots hit the net. He attempted 72 shots while on the man advantage scoring ten goals, eleven blocked shots and thirteen that went wide. Why not a draft pick, he has a very slight frame. He won 44% of his puck battles.