Russian Draft Update: Kasutin The Next Barulin

Looking towards the next NHL Entry Draft, one can't help but notice the wealth of Russian talent that went unselected over the past two years due to the continuing rift between the NHL and the Russian Hockey Federation.

Some players were bypassed due to mediocre performances, while others were unwilling to play in North America and offered little incentive for NHL clubs to draft them in light of the four-year property-rights rule under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Here is a progress report on some of the more promising overage players who went unselected in the past couple of drafts.

Part 1: Ivan Kasutin

Widely recognized as one of the top '86-born goaltenders in Russia, Ivan Kasutin struggled to get any icetime during the 2004-05 season. Stuck behind three Super League-quality goaltenders, Kasutin's development staggered with Lokomotiv and his icetime declined even in the junior league.

His struggles didn't end in Yaroslavl either as he also had trouble getting any time with Russia's national teams over the past couple of seasons. During '03-4, the talented youngster lost his starting spot on the under-18 national squad to Minnesota Wild prospect Anton Khudobin. Though Kasutin's struggles were partially to blame, it didn't help his cause that the team's assistant coach hailed from Khudobin's home club of Magnitogorsk.

Despite displaying immense promise, Kasutin went undrafted in both the NHL Entry Draft and the CHL Import Draft, squashing a rumor circulating that he was considering a move to North America.

Instead, Khudobin earned the nod and is currently competing in Canadian juniors.

Take The High Road

So, what is left after losing a national-team spot and with little prospects for icetime with his current club?

After conferring with his father, Kasutin chose to try his ability in the High League (Russia 2) signing a deal with Penza's Dizelist, a slightly above-average club.

Kasutin's performance thus far has been anything but average however as he quickly secured the starting position and has performed very well during the first third of the regular season. Having started 15 of the club's 21 games, Kasutin has posted 11 wins and an impressive 1.79 goals-against average en route to leading Dizelist to the top of the competitive Western Division.

His achievements haven't gone unnoticed by the U-20 national coaches and Kasutin has a fair chance of representing Russia at the World Junior Championships in Vancouver.

So, does Kasutin really have the raw talent to be a starting goaltender in the NHL? The answer is a resounding yes.

He is likely one of the only goaltenders in Russia to be properly trained at a goaltending school in Sweden, and plays a very North American butterfly style.

However, there are countless prospects who showed potential but never put the pieces together into a successful career. This season, Kasutin has taken his first step to proving that he is worth another look from NHL scouts.

The Next Barulin?

To some extent, his path is reminiscent of the road Konstantin Barulin followed. The '84-born goaltender was initially overlooked in the NHL draft as a lowly backup to U-18 starter Khudyakov. However, Barulin quickly established himself as a starter in the High League and then earned the backup job on the national team behind Calgary prospect Andrei Medvedev.

A season later, the St. Louis Blues picked him in the third round. Now, Barulin is a starter in the Super League (Russia 1) and beginning to receive invitations to Russia's senior national team.

Kasutin still has a long way to go to emulate Barulin's success, but the young goaltender certainly seems to be on the right track.

Kasutin's Vitals:

DOB: October 17th, 1986

Height: 6'0

Weight: 180

Shoots: Left

Birthplace: Vologograd, Russia

Hockey School: Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl)