U17 World Hockey Challenge - Team Russia

Team Russia - Fourth Place

The Russians had an ok tournament but in the end they were unable to beat any of the teams that medalled. Losses to Sweden, USA and Canada resulted in a fourth place finish. If the team had Nail Yakabov, a top 1993-born prospect, they may have fared slightly better. McKeen's Director of Scouting David Burstyn looks at a handful of Russian prospects.

Forwards: A+

The forwards were certainly not the problem in this tournament. Although their production dried up a bit in the bronze medal game, it marked the only time in the tournament that they did not score at least four goals in a game. They had three of the top four scorers in the tournament in Grigorenko, Zlobin and Khoklachev.

Defence: C-

A porous defensive corps led to many costly give aways and goals against. The Russians did not have a true PP specialist and simply lacked any type of ability on the backend. They rolled four pairings but none were unable to be utilized as a good shutdown unit. They were outshot in every game except against the Czech's and in three games in the tournament surrendered more than 40 shots.

Goaltending: B

Markov played well when called upon and often saw second, third, fourth shot chances as his defence was unable to rid the puck out of the zone. The highly acrobatic Markov saw starts against the powerhouse teams, including the bronze medal game against Sweden.

Scouting Notes:

Anton Savelyev (2011), D, Ak Bars Kazan

Saw considerable time on the PP but was unable to manufacture any type of offence as he went pointless the entire tournament .. showed poise on the point and has a decent shot .. takes far too long to get his shot off .. did a good job at sheltering the puck with his expansive body .. shows a good understanding of the game, as his passes out of the zone manufactured good odd-man rushes .. defensively, he loses his man and makes some positional errors .. does show aggression and wants to punish the opposition .. on a team of average blueliners he showed an above average skill set but needs to work on his overall game.

Albert Yarullin (2011), D, Ak Bars Kazan

Team captain was the most offensively productive defender with 6-2-2-4 totals .. boasts strong hockey IQ and excels in all game situations .. good agility and modest speed, however he needs to clean up his stride, as his feet tend to sway everywhere on the ice .. forces guys to the outside and does a good job at ridding players out of the crease .. plays a very conservative game and limits his mistakes as a result .. firm understanding of when to pinch and when to hold back makes him a valuable option .. ok shot but it needs more velocity .. was the most talented player on this squad, but surprisingly, he did not see much PP time.

Alexander Kuvaev (2011), LW, Vityaz Chekov

At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, he provided Team Russia with good size on the wings and provided minimal scoring .. not a particularly smart hockey player, he uses his size more to gain position .. a solid skater when he decided to move his feet .. can be lazy and needs to play the physical aspect of the game, as he tends to quit when challenged .. can make good moves with the puck and has glimpses of looking like a player before he makes a mental error and coughs up the puck with his poor puck decisions .. has lulls in his mental game and it influences his ability to be involved in offensive situations .. has size and is a strong skater which should make scouts take notice.

Andrey Sigarev (2011), LW, Togliatti Ladya

A good all-around player who has size and uses it effectively .. showed a good offensive game coupled with his high compete factor and willingness to take a hit to advance a play .. has a sudden burst of speed and explodes into openings .. goes hard to the net and is incredibly hard to knock off the puck down low and even in open ice .. defensively, he needs to use his size in a similar fashion that he does in the offensive zone .. too often he tends to reach with his stick as opposed to cutting a player's ice with his size .. needs to angle-off better .. an intriguing prospect who manages to get things accomplished on the ice.

Egor Omelyanenko (2011), LW, Spartak Moscow

Yet another player who looked the part on this Russian team but accomplished very little .. fluid skater with a long stride and has presence in the offensive zone due to his speed and imposing size .. is a thick forward despite only being a modest 5-foot-11 .. good speed coming down the wing and marries it with a good snapshot .. constantly buzzing around the goal and near the puck, yet rarely had the puck in his possession .. appeared very tentative with the puck, as his handling skills simply are not there .. a common trait amongst many Russian forwards is a lack of defensive conscious and Omelyanenko is no exception.

Alexander Khokhlachev (2011), C, Spartak Moscow

The second leading scorer in the tournament with 13 points .. one of the marquee playmaking centres in the tournament and formed unbelievable chemistry with Zlobin .. graceful skater who does not look like he is moving quickly but has a prevailing gear to blow by defenders .. does not have a goal scorer's mentality, as he is always looking for the pass, yet has a good shot .. opens up the seams of the opposition with his patience and uncanny hockey sense to be aware of his surroundings .. architects plays and ignites plays, as he is the straw that stirs the drink .. he can make plays at top speed .. comes back deep with regularity, which helped the offensive game of the Russians .. goes hard to the net and does not show fear to attack the net down low .. average in stature at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, he is not physical but his hockey sense and balance make him hard to knock off stride - that is if the opposition gets a stick on him .. works well on the cycle or in the slot .. has a sensational skill package and hockey IQ to be considered a high draft selection in 2011.

Maxim Shalunov (2011), RW, Traktor Chelyabinsk

Shalunov resembles a young Grachev (NYR) as he has size, speed and stickhandling prowess .. he is ahead of where Grachev was at this stage in his career .. Shalunov needs to work on his consistency, as he can look like a different player from period-to-period .. is at his best when he uses his speed to barrel into the zone .. is a great athlete with outstanding acceleration .. needs to play through plays and limit his poor body language .. can also be careless with the puck, as he tends to get stripped of it too easily .. has good straight-ahead speed and is a good winger, as he lacks creativity but plays his wing well and slides into the slot as well .. boasts a good shot, as he has a strong upper body .. has many tools to draw from and is a high-end prospect.

Anton Zlobin (2011), RW, Spartak Moscow

Finished fourth in tournament scoring as was one of only four players to record double-digit points in this tournament .. excels when he has the puck in his possession, but is a shadow of the player without it .. has a good skill set, as he can shoot and pass .. tends to shoot more .. can get overly aggressive down low and take untimely penalties .. has a tendency to try to play outside his skill set and forces plays inside his own zone .. not overly defensive in 5-5 situations, yet played the 3-5 PK and looked comfortable neutralizing the opposition .. leaves the zone early and does not always come back, as he cheats at the line .. when he is motivated and drives the net utilizing his hand skills Zlobin has the potential to be considered in the upper echelon of draft-eligible players for 2011.

Mikhail Grigorenko (2012), C, CSKA Moscow

Playing ahead of his age group in International tournaments has been common place for Grigorenko .. the 1994-born centre was third in tournament scoring with 6-4-6-10 totals .. his skill set, size and strength on his skates including his balance make him an elite player .. at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he already possesses confidence to dangle and make plays in tight spaces .. he has a short stick, which allows him to be such a great stickhandler .. always dangerous when he has the puck on his blade, as the opposition never knows what he is going to do .. draws guys to him and away from others and he is capable at this level at single handily beating players in odd-man situations .. does not seemed fazed by double or even triple coverage, as he commands so much respect from the opposition .. he can be guilty of not shooting at times, looking for the perfect offensive play .. learning to exploit his time and space quicker should come with experience .. was a tad inconsistent in his defensive responsibilities .. some games he willingly came back and blocked other shots, in other contests he had to be pried to come back .. he has to be considered one of the top picks for the 2012 draft, as scouts have gotten considerable exposure to his game against strong competition and he has succeeded.