Anton Kadeykin - Diamond in the Rough
The New Jersey Devils surprised a lot of people when they took Anton
Kadeykin with their first pick of the entry draft, 51st overall. He was
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a player that was not ranked by the Central Scouting Bureau and probably not heavily
scouted. He looks to be very good pick by the Devils with a lot of potential.
He is a project but could be described as a diamond in the rough.
The Sarnia Sting selected Anton in the second round of the OHL in the import
draft and brought to North America where he is easily accessible. After some
seasoning he could progress into a very good player. We recently got the chance
to compile a scouting report on Kadeykin:
- Defenseman, New Jersey Devils
Physical defenseman with great range and a good overall package of skills
makes solid first passes ... a powerful hitter who loves the big hit, is very
aggressive in the corners and around the net
lanky build with excellent
range, will benefit from gaining some weight and improving his balance ... seems
to hesitate a bit with the puck when he knows the hit is coming and sometimes
leads to giveaways
opts for the safe play in both the offensive and defensive
zones ... offense is in early stages at this point
must learn to take
more chances offensively and let his hard shot go more often ... needs to improve
foot speed and one-on-one coverage that leads to him getting beaten to the outside
on rushes, luckily his range is effective in those situations ... struggles
with consistency and motivation but much of that could be the need to get accustomed
to the North American game
the potential is there to be a solid top 4
NHL defenseman but he needs to put it all together and get motivated.