Recapping the Russians - Part 2

Several Russian players projected to be selected in the first round fell to the second round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. These players include Enver Lisin and Kiril Lyamin, who were both expected to be late first round selections. Roman Voloshenko surpassed the two in the draft position, and was drafted about where expected, early in the second round.

Roman Voloshenko – Round 2 (42nd overall)

Roman Voloshenko delivered a great ending to the 2003-04 season and his hard work positively impacted his draft ranking. Some experts even projected the talented young winger to be selected late in the first round. This did not happen, and Voloshenko was selected in the second round 42nd overall by the Minnesota Wild. The pick is a good fit, as Voloshenko is budding power forward, who also remembers his defensive responsibilities. His defensive ability is key in the organization like Minnesota, which often preaches defense before offense. On offense, the young forward plays aggressively, often driving towards the net. He has a very good wrist shot, but also shares the puck, which makes him even more dangerous. The area where Voloshenko still needs to work the most is his skating. While it’s not a blaring weakness and is about average, it does prevent Voloshenko from raising his game to the next level. Most importantly, Roman realizes this as his main weakness and he has attended a skating school in North America prior to the draft. Besides the style of play, Minnesota is a relatively young organization, and that will give Voloshenko the opportunity to effectively compete for a roster spot within a season or two. Due to his current contract with the Soviet Wings, barring an agreement with the club to loan him elsewhere, Voloshenko will remain in Russia’s High League (Russia 2) for another season. This should not impede his development, as it is a professional league and he will likely enjoy a promotion from the third line, where he spent most of the 2003-04 season. First or second line duties in Russia’s second league will likely do more for a talented young player’s development than limited fourth line duty in the premier Super League. The young forward appears to have the hunger and the drive to make it to the NHL, and will likely be attending the Wild’s training camp during the summer of ’05.

Enver Lisin – Round 2 (50th overall)

Enver Lisin has been widely recognized as one of the most dynamic talents out of Russia and fastest skaters in the world to be eligible for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The young forward delivered a solid performance while with Kristal Saratov in the High League (Russia 2), competing effectively against professional hockey players in some cases twice his age. More importantly, he was taken under the wing by Saratov’s Genadi Tsygurov, one of best coaches currently working in Russia, which helped him significantly to effectively make the transition from junior to professional hockey. Unfortunately, like some other prospects, despite his great potential, he was very inconsistent during the 2003-04 season, especially on the international arena. In one game the young forward scored four goals against the Czechs, but was scoreless the entire tournament prior to that game. Still, Enver Lisin’s talent and ability were undeniable and he was still projected by most scouting agencies, as well as RussianProspects to be a late selection in the first round. Surprisingly, Lisin went unclaimed in the first, as well as two thirds of the second round before the Phoenix Coyotes picked him with the 50th overall pick. While such a late selection was a surprise, it would later become an apparent pattern, as many Russians were selected later than projected. Lisin is a great pickup for Coyotes, especially in the second round. He is a project player, as he still has to complete the transition to professional hockey and improve his consistency. However, the speedy winger’s talent is immense and he has a lot more going for him, especially since he has now been signed by the Ak Bars club from Kazan, where he will make his Super League (Russia 1) debut this coming fall. Nothing beyond fourth and possibly third line duty is expected for Lisin in Kazan, but this may still be very helpful for the young forward, as he would be surrounded by a lot of experienced veterans in a well established system of a wealthy club.

Kirill Lyamin – 2nd Round (58th overall)

Kiril Lyamin was another one of the Russian players who slipped further into the second round than expected. Lyamin was not only the best blue liner available out of Russia, but probably one of the best defensemen available in the entire 2004 NHL Entry Draft. It was a great surprise to not hear his name until the Ottawa Senators selected him with their 58th overall pick. While a surprise, his drop can be explained by two factors that worked against the young player.

First, Lyamin likely dropped deeper into the second round, because of the NHL clubs’ hesitation to draft Russian players without a transfer agreement in place between the NHL and the Russian Hockey Federation. This may be a valid concern for players in Russia, who the NHL clubs wanted to see in their lineups during the coming season and who years still left on their Russian contracts. However, Lyamin would have likely spent at least another season in Russia and he is a free agent this summer, with the future of his career firmly in his hands and the hands of his agents. By the time Lyamin is ready to make his way to the NHL in a season or two there would likely already be an agreement reached between Russia Hockey Federation, the IIHF and the NHL.

The second factor that worked against Lyamin was that his otherwise successful 2003-04 season was slowed with a couple injuries. He suffered what was initially thought to be a back injury in November, being forced to miss the U20 Russian squad’s training camp and the U20 WJC in Finland. Fortunately for the young defender, the initial diagnosis of the injury proved incorrect, and the injury was actually a torso muscle bruise rather than a spinal injury. This would have been a great opportunity for Lyamin, since even though he was one of the youngest blueliners invited to the camp, his Super League (Russia 1) experience and Russia’s relative lack in defensive depth of the ’84 class would have made him one of the favorites to make the team. Lyamin was back on the ice in approximately a month and in CSKA’s lineup within a month and a half or two months. In February, Lyamin was finally invited to join Russia’s U18 squad, which was in preparations for the Five Nations Tournament in Finland. He was expected to skate on the top defensive pairing, but in another streak of bad luck, the young blueliner suffered a bruised kidney during practice. The injury was not serious, but it forced him to miss the remainder of the training camp and the tournament, delaying his debut on the national team until the U18 WJC.

At the U18 WJC Lyamin performed well and, as expected, he skated on Russia’s top defensive pairing. However, despite his solid performance at the tournament, many NHL squads appeared to have already developed concerns regarding Lyamin’s fragility. This was quite unfortunate and he actually held up quite well, considering that this was his first season in what is recognized to be the second best league in the world, and at the age of just 17. The talented defenseman’s couple of injuries during the 2003-04 season fully healed without any lasting effects and should be considered the exception rather than the rule. As such, they should have been marginalized and not be as much of a concern as it proved to be on draft day.

Ottawa appears to be a good fit for Lyamin, as the club will likely give him more of an opportunity, because of their good experience with another talented young Russian blue liner, Anton Volchenkov. Lyamin’s solid play in his own zone, as well as his ability to contribute offensively makes him a versatile package. His ability to lay down solid checks, and play a physical style of hockey will also ease his transition to the NHL hockey. Just as importantly, Lyamin already has a limited grasp of the English language, making his cultural transition to North America even faster than that of Volchenkov, who struggled to learn the language during his first NHL season. The young defender will likely be ready to make an impact at Ottawa’s training camp during the summer of 05.

article courtesy Evgeny Belashchenko and RussianProspects.com