The AHL season finishes up for SWB Penguins today, so I'll have the AHL Desjardins' list either tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, here's the European list in all its glory.A few items: I'm not going to add in other leagues, this is purely Euro totals. So Mikhnov's AHL numbers will show up in the AHL Desjardins', and his RSL numbers are presented here.
Also, keep in mind that there is significant variation on Desjardins' number for each league, so some guys may appear to be getting hit more but that's based purely on strength of league.
Finally, all of these are in 82gp form and are reflective of how said player might have performed in the NHL while getting the same icetime and the same quality linemates (compared to opponent) that he got in his European league.
That is all. Interesting stuff here.
- Alexei Mikhnov (RSL) 82gp, 26-19-45
- Dragan Umicevic (SEL) 82gp, 16-19-35
- Jozef Hrabel (CZE & RSL) 7-19-26
- Denis Grebeshkov (RSL) 82gp, 10-13-23
- Mikhail Joukov (RSL) 82gp, 3-16-19
- Jonas Almtorp (SEL) 82gp, 7-9-16
- Alexander Bumagin (RSL) 82gp, 3-5-8
- Fredrik Johansson (SEL) 82gp, 1-5-6
Oilers have other prospects in Europe (notably Kalle Olsson) but I'm making the assumption that the real prospects are playing in an Elite league somewhere in Europe. A few obervations:
- Mikhnov's numbers remain impressive in the RSL. I don't know if he's playing in the WC's this spring and haven't heard much about him since he left for Russia with a rumor swirling he'd like to come back for camp this fall. I suspect he'll be dealt to an organization with more of a track record with Russian success.
- Umicevic is exactly like Tony Salmelainen in that he usually shows well when numbers are crunched. He's up against it in an organization with so many options, but I think he deserves a shot with someone.
- Grebeshkov looks impressive as a puck moving option, but so does the less famous Jozef Hrabel. He played in two quality leagues this year and delivered in both of them. I have him as the #9 prospect in the organization, but Guy's HF Top 20 doesn't rank him among the top 20. With Guy's pipeline to the organization, it would seem that Hrabel isn't considered a legit prospect but I can't see why. The kid turns 22 in August.
- Bumagin didn't have a very good season. Too bad, it was exciting to think about another draft steal.
- Based on the three Desjardins' runs I've done so far (CHL is here, NCAA is here), Mikhnov and Trukhno should get long looks at camp this fall. Cogliano and possibly Chorney might have the same chance should they sign with the big club during the NCAA window.
I think some of the lack of consideration for Hrabal may stem from his physical stature. Hockeydb still lists him as 6 foot 165 pounds. If he isn't filling out by 22, he's obviously going to have a rough time in NA. Without knowing the background, he did move from the Czech Elite league to the Russian, which could be interpretted as either a money move or a competition one. I suppose the real litmus test will be if he's offered a contract and comes over.
ReplyDeletePS Anyone else having problems with google getting rid of their account every second day? It keeps telling me my PW is wrong and then I have to re-register.
joninabox: Both HF and Eurohockey have him at 180 so I don't think that's it. I've read defensive holes and that is likely the culprit but he's a guy I'd like to see in camp this fall.
ReplyDeleteI'd be happy to have Mikhnov back in North America next year, he got black-balled this year worse than any other prospect in the system IMO. In the two "games" he got in, he had maybe 10 shifts total, that's not enough time to play yourself out of the lineup. Give him some quality linemates, and the big man should flourish. I'd love to see him on the PP in front of the net A la Smyth. When the Oilers came to Winnipeg for a preseason game this year, i was fully impressed by his play, he dominated the game whenever he was on the ice.
ReplyDeleteHe should have an easier time in Edmonton this go around, as he'll have someone to talk Russian with (Grebeskov). It's not like Edmonton has any prospects in the AHL who are exactly screaming "NHL-ready". He deserves another shot.
On an unrelated note, there's rumblings from a Montreal news source that Markov doesn't want to re-sign in Montreal. Accordingly, there's a firestorm of debate on the Oilers HF board on whether or not he's worth franchise money. A quick spin of the stats sheets reveals:
ReplyDeleteRanked 32nd in NHL for quality of opposition according to Desjardin and owns an impressive +1.14 on/off ice ratio wherein both GA goes down and GF goes up when he's on the ice.
According to NHL.com he plays an average of 24:28 TOI/G, which includes 3:33 of SH and 4:26 of PP. He is Montreal's leader for ES and SH time, and second to Souray for PP.
Going to IOF's neat head-to-head tool, Markov played the most minutes of any Canadien against Jagr's line for the Apr 5th game when Montreal's season was hanging in the balance.
So overall, he doesn't seem to play as much per game as the typical "franchise" defensemen, but seems to do pretty darn well for himself and would definitely help the Oilers. Shoots left, so that's also nice. Worth 6 million? Maybe for a desperate team. ;)
Don't think I'd go 6 million with Markov - but I would go 5 - he's a step above the Brewers and McKee's who make 4 but below the elite guys making 6+
ReplyDeleteRelated to the Markov pricing, has anyone noticed that Redden has had a seemingly terrible season in Ottawa? He's playing second tier minutes to the Volchenkov pairing, and he's managed to come out a +1. That's absolutely abysmal on a team like Ottawa, especially when's he not even taking the tough minutes. Depending on how much stock you put into it, Desjardin's site also seems to indicate just how bad his season has been, where he's in the 500s for quality of opposition, and around a whopping -1.00 for on/off ice ratio. Ouch.
ReplyDeleteAny guesses who Redden has been playing with this season - yeah Meszaros. Being paired with a 21 year old will kill anyones numbers and Desjardin's site isn't bulletproof - there is some very funky stuff going on with the OTT dmen numbers. In any case - Meszaros is good but he's very young and not being sheltered like last season - he's had to take some tough minutes playing with Redden (like Smid has with Staios) and the results have been predictable. Meszaros is seen to be less than godly by some and Redden is seen as overpaid by others. There are even some poor fools on the OTT board who blame Redden for Meszaros having a poorer season than last - god - some people's kids.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - checkout the OTT win-loss record with Redden in and out of the lineup and tell me how much money you would put on the Sens with Redden on the shelf ....
Redden has had a fine year and the flack he's taken is mostly garbage.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - checkout the OTT win-loss record with Redden in and out of the lineup and tell me how much money you would put on the Sens with Redden on the shelf ....
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that's much of an argument there Asia. That proves he's valuable certainly but it's commenting more on Ottawa's replacement level dman rather than on Redden's worth. If OTT decides to replace Redden with a mid level guy, that record probably isn't the same.
Oh, I'd say Andrei Markov's definitely worth $6MM/yr. He plays the toughest minutes in MTL along with Komisarek, he kills penalties and he's got PP production in spades. On top of all that he's still pretty young and he's got a big LH shot from the point. He's probably worth that kind of dough to the Oilers for the PP production alone.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm not in favour of Lowe targetting a big name expensive dman. It's a huge departure from his strengths.