Report - Canucks express interest in Sharks Prospect Alexander Chmelevski

[GrammaInTheTub]

2 minutes ago, MatchesMalone said:

That's a load of horseshit. May have been true five years ago, but he committed hard to rounding out his game and he's now one of the most complete two-way centers in the KHL.

Millstein? Is that you?

[MatchesMalone]

3 minutes ago, GrammaInTheTub said:

Millstein? Is that you?

 

[N4ZZY]

23 minutes ago, MatchesMalone said:

That's a load of horseshit. May have been true five years ago, but he committed hard to rounding out his game and he's now one of the most complete two-way centers in the KHL.

I mean Goldobin is second in the KHL isn't he with 60 odd points this season? He never cracked the Canucks roster on a consistent basis. 

 

How is this guy any different from Goldobin? 

 

[MatchesMalone]

 

6 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

I mean Goldobin is second in the KHL isn't he with 60 odd points this season? He never cracked the Canucks roster on a consistent basis. 

 

How is this guy any different from Goldobin? 

 

 

Lol these are always some of my favorite takes on this site. Like it's EA Sports and all players are just the exact same base model but with different ratings and offensive production.

 

In real life every player is an individual and there's way more to compare and differentiate than just stats or whatever superficial comparison you're trying to make.

[Elias Pettersson]

20 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

I mean Goldobin is second in the KHL isn't he with 60 odd points this season? He never cracked the Canucks roster on a consistent basis. 

 

How is this guy any different from Goldobin? 

 

Goldobin is a Russian player who had no clue how to play defence. That’s why he’s in the KHL. Apparently Sasha is very good defensively, great on faceoffs and plays a North American game due to him playing in the OHL and the AHL. 

[canucks curse]

5 hours ago, Sophomore Jinx said:

The Vancouver Millsteins 

It’s pronounced Mil$$tein

[gwarrior]

I've never even heard of this guy.

[Devron]

Vancouver Russian Penguins 

[lionized27]

54 minutes ago, gwarrior said:

I've never even heard of this guy.

Neither had I until today. I don't follow the KHL and he was a 6th round pick, soooo.

I'm intrigued. 

[Miss Korea]

2 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

Goldobin is a Russian player who had no clue how to play defence. That’s why he’s in the KHL. Apparently Sasha is very good defensively, great on faceoffs and plays a North American game due to him playing in the OHL and the AHL. 

 

Goldobin also played for years in the OHL and AHL.  He played for years in North America but just didn't have enough to succeed here.  Some of the best two-way forwards of the modern era came straight out of the KHL.  Admittedly the only current player I can think of us Pavel Buchnevich.

[R3aL]

I’m intrigueddddd

[Dr. Crossbar]

Sounds like Allvin doing his thing ...

 

[N4ZZY]

6 hours ago, MatchesMalone said:

 

 

Lol these are always some of my favorite takes on this site. Like it's EA Sports and all players are just the exact same base model but with different ratings and offensive production.

 

In real life every player is an individual and there's way more to compare and differentiate than just stats or whatever superficial comparison you're trying to make.

I'm just saying. The guy's 24 years old, and he's a former sixth round selection. I'm not sure there's anything there that jumps off the page. What am I missing here? 

 

[N4ZZY]

3 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

Pavel Buchnevich.

He's a pretty good player. I'd trade for him, depending on the ask. 

 

[CaptainCanuck12]

1 hour ago, N4ZZY said:

I'm just saying. The guy's 24 years old, and he's a former sixth round selection. I'm not sure there's anything there that jumps off the page. What am I missing here? 

 

Maybe that he's developed and matured?

[Miss Korea]

1 hour ago, N4ZZY said:

He's a pretty good player. I'd trade for him, depending on the ask. 

 

 

He is St. Louis' best player.  Getting rid of him would signal a full-on rebuild, and that obviously means they'd want a Horvat-like haul for him.  They have zero intentions of rebuilding right now.

[Miss Korea]

1 hour ago, N4ZZY said:

I'm just saying. The guy's 24 years old, and he's a former sixth round selection. I'm not sure there's anything there that jumps off the page. What am I missing here? 

 

3 minutes ago, CaptainCanuck12 said:

Maybe that he's developed and matured?

 

Indeed.

 

Age is less meaningful in today's age with so many Americans/Canadians starting their careers late after spending 4 years in college.  Look at the guys we signed last April.  Look at the guys on our main team right now: Soucy, Joshua, Lafferty, and Blueger all did a full four years and went pro at the ages of 22-24.  They all took  year or two in the minors and only became NHL regulars around age 25.

 

Beyond North America, you have more and more European draftees choosing to spend longer in their domestic leagues before coming over.  Karlsson and Åman spent years playing pro hockey in Sweden before coming over.  Mikheyev and Kuzmenko were 25 and 26 respectively, completely skipping the AHL and making immediate impacts on their teams.

 

If Chemelvski feels he is ready to return to North America, he likely has the potential  to play in the NHL immediately, whether it's for San Jose or for us or for any other team, honestly.  He has absolutely raised his stock.

[N4ZZY]

42 minutes ago, CaptainCanuck12 said:

Maybe that he's developed and matured?

 

Probably developed developed physically for sure. And most likely matured (he should) at 24. 

 

I mean, I'm intrigued by the player, just hope it doesn't cost us too much to acquire him if we do. 

 

[Ghostsof1915]

We've got Podz, why do we need someone else when we haven't even tapped our Farm Team?

[MatchesMalone]

7 hours ago, N4ZZY said:

I'm just saying. The guy's 24 years old, and he's a former sixth round selection. I'm not sure there's anything there that jumps off the page. What am I missing here? 

 

 

Look closer. There are some things that jump off the page, but also a lot that requires context. 10 points in 5 games at Hlinka Cup his draft year, to lead his team and the tournament. He fell at the draft due to questions around consistency of effort, defensive play and smallish stature, but he was always considered among the most purely skilled players in his draft class.

 

Then there was the final 15 minutes of the 2019 WJC gold medal game, which for me was where I became convinced he was a legit potential NHL gamebreaker - with USA down 2-0 to Finland going into the third, Chmelevski simply took over the game, scoring a highlight-reel turnaround snipe with 13 minutes to go, and about a minute later primary assisting on the tying goal, and creating several more chances before Finland ultimately won it in the final 3 minutes.

 

Later that same season he led his Ottawa 67s to the OHL finals where they fell to the Guelph Storm. Another one that jumps off the page, his dominant performance placed him 2nd in the playoffs to Nick Suzuki with 31 points in 18 games. His linemates were Tye Felhaber and Lucas Chiodo, solid junior players who he helped elevate to finishing 4th and 5th in playoff scoring.

 

So by this point it was crystal clear what an elite offensive talent he could be, but the question marks around consistency, effort and defensive commitment remained. But then he turned pro with San Jose, and we know all about that former Sharks management group, time after time over the years developing talented young players into complete two-way workhorses - Pavelski, Couture, Hertl, Meier. And they demanded the same from Chmelevski. His rookie pro year was respectable as he paced for 40+ points. Over the next two years he continued to put up solid but unspectacular numbers and without context it would have been easy to wonder what happened to all that offensive upside he showed in junior, but if you listened to comments from coaches or teammates during that time, his offense had slowed down as he had committed to becoming a more complete two-way player, and by the time of his late season NHL stretch in '22, he had 180 degree turned his weaknesses into strengths.

 

Again, without context it would be easy to assume he got in some NHL games, wasn't good enough to cut it, so jumped ship to the KHL, but this couldn't possibly be further from the truth. Even just at a glance, one would think 8 assists and +2 in 19 games on an awful team should be enough to at least earn another shot? But when you look more closely at the numbers on that stretch, playing full-time with Logan Couture, he faced the most difficult minutes and matchups on the team, and yet still ended up with a 1.35% higher XGF/XGA ratio compared to the team average. He made the jump to Russia because he didn't want to start his NHL career losing every night on a team just entering into a full-scale rebuild process, and it didn't make sense for the Sharks to trade him as he was so unproven but had so much upside, and they could retain his rights while he was in KHL.

 

So upon going to the KHL, as a 23 year old rookie to the league, he immediately established himself as his team's number one center and one of the best two-way centers in the league. Now this year he's added another gear to his game offensively. After starting the season on similar pace to last year's numbers, he took off around the start of December with 5 goals, 13 assists and a +15 in his last 16 games. He's only finished a minus for one game in that entire stretch!

 

He ranks 1st in KHL for goals and points among U25 players. And he currently sits in the top 10 among KHL forwards in goals, points, shots, takaeaways, pass interceptions, and he's 3rd in FO taken and 1st in FOW, and he's winning those at a 60.3% clip. All of the centers who rank ahead of him in FO% are wily old veterans like Eric O'Dell and centers in their 30s.

 

I've been wrong once or twice before, but I'm convinced he's ready to jump right in and be a 40-50 point two-way center in the NHL, and I still think he could develop into a 70+ point center in the mould of something like a Logan Couture or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Edited January 14 by MatchesMalone

[higgyfan]

Other NHL teams are looking at him, but if the Canucks want him, I think they would

have a decent chance.  If he's as good as what Matches has said, I would think the

Sharks would want something decent in return.

 

I wonder if the Nucks could sign him to a 'show me' contract for the rest of the

season (or extended through next season).  Even then, the Nucks would need to

clear some cap space.

 

It's certainly worth it to the Canucks to find out what the bottom line if for Chmelevski.

[lionized27]

3 hours ago, MatchesMalone said:

 

Look closer. There are some things that jump off the page, but also a lot that requires context. 10 points in 5 games at Hlinka Cup his draft year, to lead his team and the tournament. He fell at the draft due to questions around consistency of effort, defensive play and smallish stature, but he was always considered among the most purely skilled players in his draft class.

 

Then there was the final 15 minutes of the 2019 WJC gold medal game, which for me was where I became convinced he was a legit potential NHL gamebreaker - with USA down 2-0 to Finland going into the third, Chmelevski simply took over the game, scoring a highlight-reel turnaround snipe with 13 minutes to go, and about a minute later primary assisting on the tying goal, and creating several more chances before Finland ultimately won it in the final 3 minutes.

 

Later that same season he led his Ottawa 67s to the OHL finals where they fell to the Guelph Storm. Another one that jumps off the page, his dominant performance placed him 2nd in the playoffs to Nick Suzuki with 31 points in 18 games. His linemates were Tye Felhaber and Lucas Chiodo, solid junior players who he helped elevate to finishing 4th and 5th in playoff scoring.

 

So by this point it was crystal clear what an elite offensive talent he could be, but the question marks around consistency, effort and defensive commitment remained. But then he turned pro with San Jose, and we know all about that former Sharks management group, time after time over the years developing talented young players into complete two-way workhorses - Pavelski, Couture, Hertl, Meier. And they demanded the same from Chmelevski. His rookie pro year was respectable as he paced for 40+ points. Over the next two years he continued to put up solid but unspectacular numbers and without context it would have been easy to wonder what happened to all that offensive upside he showed in junior, but if you listened to comments from coaches or teammates during that time, his offense had slowed down as he had committed to becoming a more complete two-way player, and by the time of his late season NHL stretch in '22, he had 180 degree turned his weaknesses into strengths.

 

Again, without context it would be easy to assume he got in some NHL games, wasn't good enough to cut it, so jumped ship to the KHL, but this couldn't possibly be further from the truth. Even just at a glance, one would think 8 assists and +2 in 19 games on an awful team should be enough to at least earn another shot? But when you look more closely at the numbers on that stretch, playing full-time with Logan Couture, he faced the most difficult minutes and matchups on the team, and yet still ended up with a 1.35% higher XGF/XGA ratio compared to the team average. He made the jump to Russia because he didn't want to start his NHL career losing every night on a team just entering into a full-scale rebuild process, and it didn't make sense for the Sharks to trade him as he was so unproven but had so much upside, and they could retain his rights while he was in KHL.

 

So upon going to the KHL, as a 23 year old rookie to the league, he immediately established himself as his team's number one center and one of the best two-way centers in the league. Now this year he's added another gear to his game offensively. After starting the season on similar pace to last year's numbers, he took off around the start of December with 5 goals, 13 assists and a +15 in his last 16 games. He's only finished a minus for one game in that entire stretch!

 

He ranks 1st in KHL for goals and points among U25 players. And he currently sits in the top 10 among KHL forwards in goals, points, shots, takaeaways, pass interceptions, and he's 3rd in FO taken and 1st in FOW, and he's winning those at a 60.3% clip. All of the centers who rank ahead of him in FO% are wily old veterans like Eric O'Dell and centers in their 30s.

 

I've been wrong once or twice before, but I'm convinced he's ready to jump right in and be a 40-50 point two-way center in the NHL, and I still think he could develop into a 70+ point center in the mould of something like a Logan Couture or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Thank you for this. 

[CaptainCanuck12]

Maybe we could offer them Karlsson back.....along with their 6th rd. pick.  The Burrows trade could just keep on giving!

[Coryberg]

10 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

 

He is St. Louis' best player.  Getting rid of him would signal a full-on rebuild, and that obviously means they'd want a Horvat-like haul for him.  They have zero intentions of rebuilding right now.

Did Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou die in a horrible plane crash yesterday?

Edited January 14 by Coryberg

[Elias Pettersson]

16 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

 

Goldobin also played for years in the OHL and AHL.  He played for years in North America but just didn't have enough to succeed here.  Some of the best two-way forwards of the modern era came straight out of the KHL.  Admittedly the only current player I can think of us Pavel Buchnevich.

 
Yeah I totally forgot Goldobin came to North America early. I guess he just never learned how to play defence. 
 

Two of the greatest two way forwards to ever play the game came directly from Russia. Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Datsyuk. 

Edited January 14 by Elias Pettersson