One thing all Flyers fans noticed when watching the Flyers in the playoffs is their lack of speed, high-energy play, goal-scoring and board play.
With the Flyers getting knocked out of the playoffs from the Islanders, it’s officially time to fix some important needs throughout the team. One important date to mark on the calendar this offseason is the 2020 NHL Draft, which will be held on October 6-7th. The Flyers will pick at number 23 in the first round.
For those who may not know, the draft this year is loaded with superstar talent, and the Flyers, despite coming home from a hope in winning the Stanley Cup, are in a perfect spot to draft an elite player.
More News Related to the Draft.
A player that comes to mind that should be high on the Flyers draft radar is Russian center, Marat Khusnutdinov. Before playing in the MHL, Marat played two seasons with Vityaz Podolsk in Russia’s U16 and U17 League. In the 2017-18 season with the U16s, Khusnutdinov scored eight goals and 42 points in 25 games played. Then in 2018-19 with the U17s, he scored eight goals and 18 points in 11 games. He also suited up for one game for the U18s and scored a goal and three points.
Marat has recently been playing for SKA-1946 St. Petersburg of the MHL, one of KHL’s minor leagues. He had a fantastic growth throughout the 2019-20 season, posting 13 goals and 38 points in 44 games. In the beginning of the year, he hardly had any ice time, averaging around six-minutes per night. Then he worked his way up to around 15 minutes per night towards the end of the season, and he continued to climb the draft boards through the year, being listed from third to now first round range.
With the 2020-21 season beginning in Russia, Khusnutdinov is already putting on a show. Marat has been centering San Jose Sharks 2019 Draft pick, Yegor Spiridonov, and projected top two pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Matvei Michkov. This year he should be expected to get some playing time in the VHL, and then depending on how he does, play some time in pro in the KHL.
Another thing to mention, Khusnutdinov has also had a pretty decent showing at the international level, winning a gold medal with Russia at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. In the tournament, Marat posted three assists in five games. Also, after three years of playing on Russian International-Jr team, he has scored 18 goals and 37 points in 58 games played.
Scouting Report
Despite being undersized standing at 5’10”, the biggest factor from Khusnutdinov’s style of play is his high energy and perfect positional play. He seems to always be zooming around the ice looking to create a scoring opportunity. Like mentioned above, the Flyers need a play driver, and Marat is that kind of guy. While Khusnutdinov is more of a playmaker then goal-scorer, he is a player you can rely on to create space and help generate offense. He is very confident with the puck on transition play, on the cycle, on the powerplay, and with his skilled hands and vision, he can thread the needle in tight areas as well. He has a solid shot that is quick and accurate, and can get it to the net through a screen. But one of his many talents is his backhander. He can roof the puck off the backhand from in tight or when crashing the net.
Combine his offensive skill set with powerful skating abilities, Khusnutdinov is a hard player to defend. He is a very shifty skater with strong agility and edgework. Especially on transition play, he has a long explosive stride and he does a great job at controlling the pace of play.
Defensively, he will need to gain some muscle, especially for when he gets to the pro level. While being undersized, it doesn’t seem to bother Khusnutdinov, as he always fights hard along the wall. With his skating, it allows him to fight through checks and win important battles. Marat is a two-way player, and like in the offensive zone, he zooms around the defensive zone reading and breaking up plays and starting the rush up ice.
Strengths
-Play driving/forchecking
-Skating
-Reading plays on offense/defense
Weakness
-Size
-Can often get caught chasing the puck to much
Projection
Marat has the potential to be a two-way top-six center in the NHL one day. While he is playing in a weaker league as of now, if he continues to play well and work his way up to the KHL, he is NHL ready in two-three years. He would be a great pick for the Flyers, who are a team looking for a skilled play driving forward.
Astute observations! Well organized.