Tarasenko

[vandalay]

AlexSerenRosso says that Tarasenko is most likely going to cross the pond. Sibir GM is quoted as saying Tarasenko himself will decide what he wants to do next year.

http://twitter.com/AlexSerenRosso

[maxpey]

Awesome news! I am sure he will come over next year and kick some butt on a team that is sorely lacking a superstar.

Potential 50 goal scorer one day IMO.

[dmvincent]

Awesome news! I am sure he will come over next year and kick some butt on a team that is sorely lacking a superstar.

Potential 50 goal scorer one day IMO.

Don't let this affect his standing.
He's still a top prospect overall, I think he's going to be a 90-100 point guy, 50 goals? maybe!

[Big Ev]

Let's settle down guys. 50 goals and 100 points? If he had that potential, he would have been drafted in the Top 3 regardless of his KHL flight risk (only reason he dropped).

[fungchen3]

Yeah 50/100 talk for Tarasenko is quite extreme. 35/75 may be doable though. If Tarasenko ever breaks 40G and 90Pts. dance a jig because that would place him up there with the likes of Parise, Perry, Heatley, Iginla, etc.

[vandalay]

Let's settle down guys. 50 goals and 100 points? If he had that potential, he would have been drafted in the Top 3 regardless of his KHL flight risk (only reason he dropped).

As a Sens fan you're hoping that's the case...

But seriously it was repeatedly speculated that if it weren't for the Russian factor he was definitely a top 10 and probably a top 5 pick.

[dmvincent]

As a Sens fan you're hoping that's the case...

But seriously it was repeatedly speculated that if it weren't for the Russian factor he was definitely a top 10 and probably a top 5 pick.

I think he's the next Malkin.
I may be wrong, but that's my opinion.

[Big Ev]

I think he's the next Malkin.
I may be wrong, but that's my opinion.

The next Malkin in what sense? Because they are not really comparable. Malkin is bigger, is a centre, and is a playmaker.

and what exactly are you basing this on? The limited action you saw of him in the World Juniors?

[Veritas0Aequitas]

I think he's the next Gretzky! LOLZ.

Seriously guys, get a hold of youreselves. He'll be a point-per-gamer if we're all lucky. 40-40-80 I think is reasonable for him to hit on a regular basis if he pans out 100%.

[maxpey]

I said potential for 50, but agree more likely consistent 40-40 guy which is great already. He did look like a man against boys at the WJC's. Kuznetsov showed his skills, but Tarasenko showed his readiness to play in the NHL.

[4horsemen]

I think he's the next Malkin.
I may be wrong, but that's my opinion.

The next Malkin?!? Hmmmmm......

Tarasenko's production has actually regressed this season which I find very telling when projecting his potential NHL impact. His KHL seasons have seen him scoring 10 (at 16), 24 (at 17) and 19 (at 18). Very good for his age group, especially his production last year, but 19 points this year should raise a few cautionary flags in terms of some of the huge upsides I hear thrown around from time to time. The most telling stat to me is that he's remained a plus player on a team full of minus's and this kind of work ethic will no doubt see him finding a full time role in the NHL sooner rather than later.

Malkin, on the other hand saw seasons of 12 (at 17), 32 (at 18) and 47 (at 19). Oh yeah, he was also the number 2 pick in the draft after only Ovie

Neither Siber (Tarasenko's team) or Metallurg (Malkin's team) were high scoring so that shouldn't have played any role in the stats that either player was able to accumulate and there can be absolutely no argument made that Tarasenko has had difficulty finding ice-time with Siber as he just might have an inside track

The bottom line is that your comment got me wondering how the two stacked up at the same age during their time in Russia and I can no doubt say that there really isn't much of a comparison. Malkin was quite clearly an Elite talent, Tarasenko seems like a solid prospect but tagging him with an upside of greater than 80-85 points is a little too optimistic for my tastes.

[vandalay]

The next Malkin?!? Hmmmmm......

Tarasenko's production has actually regressed this season which I find very telling when projecting his potential NHL impact. His KHL seasons have seen him scoring 10 (at 16), 24 (at 17) and 19 (at 18). Very good for his age group, especially his production last year, but 19 points this year should raise a few cautionary flags in terms of some of the huge upsides I hear thrown around from time to time. The most telling stat to me is that he's remained a plus player on a team full of minus's and this kind of work ethic will no doubt see him finding a full time role in the NHL sooner rather than later.

Malkin, on the other hand saw seasons of 12 (at 17), 32 (at 18) and 47 (at 19). Oh yeah, he was also the number 2 pick in the draft after only Ovie

Neither Siber (Tarasenko's team) or Metallurg (Malkin's team) were high scoring so that shouldn't have played any role in the stats that either player was able to accumulate and there can be absolutely no argument made that Tarasenko has had difficulty finding ice-time with Siber as he just might have an inside track

The bottom line is that your comment got me wondering how the two stacked up at the same age during their time in Russia and I can no doubt say that there really isn't much of a comparison. Malkin was quite clearly an Elite talent, Tarasenko seems like a solid prospect but tagging him with an upside of greater than 80-85 points is a little too optimistic for my tastes.

His stats didn't improve this season but I wouldn't call this a regression considering his continued limited ice-time (yes, he did get limited ice-time despite the fact that his coach is his father. It is a fact that 9 forwards on Sibir got more icetime per game than he did this season).

09/10 (17 year old) - 42 games, 13-11-24 and 86 SOG
10/11 (18 year old) - 42 games, 9-10-19 and 132 SOG (but shortened by injury)

I don't believe he's the next Malkin but let's look at his RSL numbers.

03/04 (17 year old) - 34 games, 3-9-12
04/05 (18 year old) - 52 games, 12-20-32

As for whether Malkin's team was high-scoring don't forget that 04/05 was the year of the lock-out and Malkin's teammates included Gonchar, Elias and Sykora, not to mention the second-leading scorer that year Kaigorodov. Not to mention the difference in games played.

[4horsemen]

His stats didn't improve this season but I wouldn't call this a regression considering his continued limited ice-time (yes, he did get limited ice-time despite the fact that his coach is his father. It is a fact that 9 forwards on Sibir got more icetime per game than he did this season).

09/10 (17 year old) - 42 games, 13-11-24 and 86 SOG
10/11 (18 year old) - 42 games, 9-10-19 and 132 SOG (but shortened by injury)

I don't believe he's the next Malkin but let's look at his RSL numbers.

03/04 (17 year old) - 34 games, 3-9-12
04/05 (18 year old) - 52 games, 12-20-32

As for whether Malkin's team was high-scoring don't forget that 04/05 was the year of the lock-out and Malkin's teammates included Gonchar, Elias and Sykora, not to mention the second-leading scorer that year Kaigorodov. Not to mention the difference in games played.

Some interesting points here. Could you point me towards your reference for the ice time?

One thing that I always try to stick to when selecting fantasy hockey prospects is that most of the time the cream rises to the top. To clarify, I don't often buy the argument that if only player x was getting more ice time / were traded to a different team / could get out from under that coach he'd be a star. From my experience it's more the exception than the rule to see a player lose their upward trajectory only to find their footing again under different circumstances. My point is that, if what you say is true and Malkin saw much more ice-time as a kid than Tarasenko is now then my only question would be, why? The answer to this question is usually quite simple.....talent.

[vandalay]

Some interesting points here. Could you point me towards your reference for the ice time?

One thing that I always try to stick to when selecting fantasy hockey prospects is that most of the time the cream rises to the top. To clarify, I don't often buy the argument that if only player x was getting more ice time / were traded to a different team / could get out from under that coach he'd be a star. From my experience it's more the exception than the rule to see a player lose their upward trajectory only to find their footing again under different circumstances. My point is that, if what you say is true and Malkin saw much more ice-time as a kid than Tarasenko is now then my only question would be, why? The answer to this question is usually quite simple.....talent.

Here's a link to the KHL website, showing Sibir's team stats. TOI is included.

http://en.khl.ru/stat/players/185/all/3407/

I don't know what Malkin's TOI was in the Russian Super League because as far as I can tell those stats don't exist (at least online). For all I know he got less TOI than Tarasenko, I'm just comparing their totals.

I totally agree with you about the cream rising to the top and your other points, but I never did say Tarasenko will be like Malkin. I just think that KHL stats are tough to compare to NHL stats and the only time we see these players is in the WJC, where Tarasenko played fearlessly and showed immense talent in relation to his peers. He was one of Russia's best players at the WJC last year too. And I do think that his upside is greater than 80, but of course I would be very happy if he put up 80 points consistently (how could you be disappointed in that).

[Casey Jones]

His stats didn't improve this season but I wouldn't call this a regression considering his continued limited ice-time (yes, he did get limited ice-time despite the fact that his coach is his father. It is a fact that 9 forwards on Sibir got more icetime per game than he did this season).

09/10 (17 year old) - 42 games, 13-11-24 and 86 SOG
10/11 (18 year old) - 42 games, 9-10-19 and 132 SOG (but shortened by injury)

I don't believe he's the next Malkin but let's look at his RSL numbers.

03/04 (17 year old) - 34 games, 3-9-12
04/05 (18 year old) - 52 games, 12-20-32

As for whether Malkin's team was high-scoring don't forget that 04/05 was the year of the lock-out and Malkin's teammates included Gonchar, Elias and Sykora, not to mention the second-leading scorer that year Kaigorodov. Not to mention the difference in games played.

Sorry to jack this thread but I think a guy that should get considerations in these comparisons is Kuznetsov.

09/10 (17 year old) - 35 games, 2-6-8
10/11 (18 year old) - 44 games, 17-15-32

He's the top scorer on his team, in a league where veterans are more heavily relied upon. He's a +7 on a team full of minus'. He's top 30 in goal-scoring, tied for 11th most with 17 goals. As for toi, both Tarasenko and Kuznetsov got around the same amount with about 14:15 per game. Both should be good, but I don't think that Kuznetsov should be overlooked