U-17 Hockey Challenge: Team Russia

The Russians have not competed in this event since 2004 and as always, did not play to their potential. At times, they were a lethargic collection of players who did not want to compete. They fell asleep against Team West in a much-needed win that would have put them in a position to finish in the top three. They beat the teams they were supposed too but packed it in against stiffer competition and finished in fifth place.

Forwards

This group of forwards all brought something to the table. They had a good blend of finishers and playmakers and even had gritty players who were willing to battle down low. They were led by young hotshot Kirill Kabanov, a 1992-born player who scored 11 points in five games. The likes of Kitsin and Orlov are sure to garner considerable interest in the 2009 NHL entry draft.

Grade: A-

Defense

Lacking a true PP offensive defenseman, the Russians relied heavily on the undersized Orlov, who shares no relation with the forward. He was the most reliable defenseman in terms of completing a healthy first pass or spearheading an attack. The other defensemen were non-existent. The play of Yuryev was consistent defensively and the random play of Berdyukov was unpredictable at best.

Grade: C+

Goaltending

Neither goalie could steal a game for the Russians. Eduard Reyzvikh was pulled against the Americans after seven minutes of play and replaced by Dimitry Shikin. The two flip-flopped starts the next two games to post wins over Team Germany and Team Atlantic respectively. In the crucial game against Team West, they again went with Reyzvikh and he saved 42 in a 4-1 loss. They went back to Shikin in the last game against Finland, only for him to be replaced by Reyzvikh. Overall, it was a complete disaster for the Russian goalies.

Grade: C

The Russians have plenty of talent in this age group. They did not have the luxury of playing with one another and did an admirable job considering how fast this team was put together. They will need to learn to be more disciplined, as they handed Team West the game with costly and avoidable penalties.

Grade: B-

Kirll Yuryev (2009), D, Avangard Omsk

Logged ample minutes as a dependable, no-nonsense, physically aggressive defenseman .. he played on the PK primarily, as he is very awkward with the puck .. he identifies his man quickly in the defensive zone and has strong mobility to keep up .. he played in many 3-5 situations .. he gets a tad rambunctious and looks for hits too often .. he needs to settle down in order to be more effective .. he is strong along the glass and does not have difficulty pinning his man against the boards .. he has a wide stance and does not garner much in terms of speed .. he will not be confused for a puck rusher but he will follow a play and shows some awareness at the line .. his shot and execution of one-timers simply is not there .. considered more of a depth defenseman that was capable of playing in the top four in his age group.

Georgy Berdyukov (2009), D, SKA St.Petersburg

Berdyukov's game provides both defensive and offensive elements to it .. trusted more in defensive situations, as he has a firm understanding of defending .. he limits scoring chances with his speed and effectiveness to drive players wide .. he sacrifices his body to block shots and uses his stick well to block passing lanes .. he is a crease clearer and will defend his net valiantly .. he plays a very complete game in terms of his overall positioning .. he can get nervous with the puck and his puck skills are not developed .. his presence at the line can be a liability because he is very unpredictable because of his lack of confidence in the offensive zone .. he will try to over compensate and often makes poor decisions as a result, including forcing passes and taking shots in blocked shooting lanes .. to his credit, he has a great slapshot but he takes too long to get it off .. a decent depth player for future international competitions.

Dmitry V.Orlov (2009), D, Metallurg Novokuznetsk

Leading scorer on the backend, as he launched many attacks and was the only defenseman to play on the PP .. for the things that make him successful, they are also the traits that take away from his game, which primarily include his decision-making at the line .. he likes to gamble, however, his success-to-error-ratio is about 50 percent, which just is not good enough .. when he is on, he can make marvelous plays that generate promising scoring chances .. the Russians had a set play where he would give up the puck and charge to the net, as he is a dangerous option that most teams learned to cover early .. he loves to shoot and has a good snapshot .. his shots generate rebounds, as they were difficult to contain .. once again, his shot selection much like his offensive reads is the subject of debate .. his affinity to rushing the puck out of the zone single handily helps other less-skilled-Russian-defenseman who were incapable of making a first pass .. does not always move his feet defensively, as he prefers to break up plays in the neutral zone .. often, he will rely on his hand/eye coordination to intercept a pass or pokecheck an opponent .. shouldered the brunt of the offensive duties, his performance was good but he is not a number one defenseman.

Kirill Kabanov (2010), LW, Spartak Moscow

Turned in an outstanding performance seeing PP time and a spot duty on the second line to lead all underage players and his team in tournament scoring with 5-2-8-11 totals, good for fourth overall .. he is a combatant and fights for every square inch of ice .. he is mean and feisty and will not think twice about sticking you, as his 24 PIM's can attest .. he goes wherever the puck is and he always wants it .. he can beat defenders easily if they are foolish to play the puck, as his hand skills are very quick .. he has decent speed but is not a burner, but since he is constantly moving his feet, he is difficult to defend .. always stays with plays and is the first to try to pry the puck free when it is smothered by the goalie .. always rushing into the offensive zone and does things intelligently .. is very methodical in terms of how he approaches corner battles .. he establishes good position before engaging in the battle, which ultimately leads to him retrieving the puck .. he has patience to distribute the puck and hates giving it away .. he would sooner rush into the zone challenging three guys then lose it to defensive coverage in the neutral zone .. can play a dump-and-chase-game and plays a strong cycle game due to his nastiness and balance along the boards .. his competitiveness is what sets him apart from most Russian prospects, as he simply hates to lose and it shows in his body language.

Dmitry A.Orlov (2009), RW, Severstal Cherepovets

Has already been compared to Russian great Igor Larionov in terms of how he prepares and processes the game .. a cerebral player who expends little energy but wreaks havoc when he crosses into the offensive zone .. he is an agile, elusive skater with outstanding hand skills and a creative mind .. when he has the puck, he has the innate ability to hold onto it so his teammates can get into better position both offensively and defensively .. he is almost impossible to knock off the puck because he forces defenders to make a decision and he is always one-step ahead of them .. he is like a chess Grandmaster in terms of how he plans multiple moves in advance .. he does not overpower goalies with his shots but he can makes moves in close that allow him to slither a puck past a goalie that has over played the shot .. he is competitive but not physical .. his anticipation and hockey sense are so above his peers and he makes everyone around him better .. he will be a fixture on Russian National teams for many seasons.

Sergey Chvanov (2009), C, Severstal Cherepovets

Russian captain quietly put up seven points in five games .. he is not dynamic in any area of the ice but his work ethic and patience to watch a play unfold helped him create offensively .. he is an average skater, his turns and overall agility are nothing to brag about .. he has enough sense not to go into the corners and understands that bigger guys should go down low to get him the puck, as it is better served for him to be able to make plays in open ice .. healthy vision and an adept passer .. he never holds onto the puck too long and moves into open ice .. he formed good chemistry with his linemates, Chvanov and Valuyskiy because he understood what he needed to do to complement and make their game better .. he plays well within a system .. he lacks imagination but he gets the job done with very simple plays that are always advancing the puck up ice .. played a good support role and even though he was a first line centre at this tournament, he should blend in nicely as a special team's player capable of providing some offence but certainly not barring the scoring responsibility of a top-six forward for future competitions.

Anton Burdasov (2009), RW, Traktor Chelyabinsk

His play was erratic and inconsistent .. at times, he looked like one of the best players on the ice and other times, he was skating with his head down and the puck way too ahead of him .. he is very strong on his skates, as he can bulldoze himself into the offensive zone .. won the majority of the draws he took due to his hand/eye coordination and concentration .. he is a smart player and is responsible at both ends of the ice .. one of only a few Russian forwards that would block a shot and come back regularly on defense .. his defensive game helped to support his offensive game, as he could take control of the puck down low and showed modest speed within his first few strides .. his puck distribution skills also complemented forwards who cheated and did not show the type of enthusiasm he displayed in coming back .. they were often the recipient of a good first pass that gave them an odd-man breakout .. was a valuable contributor, as he chipped in three points in five games.

Alexander Burmistrov (2010), C, Ak Bars Kazan

Second-line centre played a safe and reliable game .. his faceoff skills are good ..

he has a gangly frame that makes him very hard to contain, as his limbs fly all over the place .. for as much as his size helps his overall game, he simply does not use it to his advantage enough .. he does not hold onto the puck long enough to generate quality scoring chances .. he has a great reach and can make plays but he seems to lack focus .. at times, he can be caught running around too much and chases more plays than he initiates .. he has a mature offensive game, as he registered a point a game and scored a sensational goal that displayed patience and the ability to think quickly with the puck .. all the tools are there but he must bear down more and concentrate harder in all three zones.

Maxim Kitsin (2010), LW, Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Enigmatic forward had the athleticism and agility to be one of the most productive players in this tournament and certainly on his team but lacked the desire to play a full 60 minutes of hockey .. took too many shifts off and did not compete hard enough for open ice and positioning .. relied mostly on skill and on some nights he was dominating, while on others he was scenery in the background .. he simply did not have anything left in the tank after the Russians had to play back-to-back games in less than 24 hours .. he has a great first step and finds the holes with or without the puck .. he is a threat to score every time he is on the ice because he can create a dangerous scoring chance out of a rather innocent play .. he is lethal trailing the play, as he takes a pass in full stride without breaking speed .. he has a sizzling release on a wristshot that could have been one of the best in the tournament .. he is not a physical player but he is strong .. he elects to spin off checks and rarely is caught with a hit but when he does, he becomes very irritated .. he creates turnovers with his quickness and his hands .. he often will try to keep going through traffic and along the boards and is usually successful in squirting a puck into open ice .. an undeniable skill set he needs to improve on his conditioning levels.