The Wings Nation Top 20 Prospects: #2 Evgeny Svechnikov
By Brad Krysko
7 years agoA lot of teams have different methods of drafting, some teams will take the ‘safest’ pick. A guy who isn’t flashy but generally thought to have a well rounded game that should translate adequately to the NHL level. There are some picks that are considered ‘Home Run swings’, a guy who has obvious weaknesses but obvious elite level strengths. Evgeny Svechnikov is the latter.
The Red Wings took Svechnikov with the 19th overall pick in the 2015 draft. With that pick they were swinging for the fences.
Evgeny is a straight up elite offensive player. He shoots exceptionally well, he reads the play better than almost any forward in the QMJHL, he skates well for a player his size, oh and he’s 6’2”, 198 pounds. He’s built to score and he does it very, very well.
However, his defensive side of the game is lacking. Some say a little bit, others say a lot. There’s no denying that in today’s NHL you have to at least be capable in your own end and Evgeny has much work to do in that regard. The thing is though, defensive responsibility can be taught, his offensive instincts can not.
By the numbers
One of the best writeups you’ll find about Svechnikov came from The Nation Network’s own money puck, written prior to the 2015 draft. Ranked as high in the draft as 9th by ESPN’s Corey Pronman, “Svech” was heralded by many for his ability to put the puck in the net often.
Svechnikov continued his strong scoring rate this year, picking up 79 points in just 50 games… often playing alongside Pierre-Luc Dubois, the #3 overall pick in this year’s draft.
His shots are quick and without notice. Skating wise he has great agility and is well balanced on his skates, he is not a burner though, could add another gear and refine his skating technique a little bit. He is strong on his skates and hard to move, combine this with his great puck control, it’s hard for his opponents to take off the puck from him.
The only concern with Svechnikov’s offensive game is his inconsistency. Over the course of his two full QMJHL seasons he simply torched the league, putting up well over a point per game with Cape Breton. However when you look at his tournament numbers with the Russian junior teams, he either lights it up or is nearly invisible. This is not uncommon for young players, even less uncommon for young Russian players but it’s an issue he needs to straighten out sooner rather than later.
Looking ahead
The one thing that is scariest about Svechnikov isn’t his shot, skating abilities, or his resume.
No, it’s the fact he’s in the Red Wings organization and we really can’t project when we’ll actually see him in the Winged Wheel. While he could likely step into the NHL today and not look totally out of place… the Wings don’t have a proven track record of rushing their young players into the organization. To make it worse, there’s a glutton of forwards stuck ahead of him, and the treatment of young players like Andreas Athanasiou doesn’t exactly inspire confidence to seeing him at the NHL level right away.
Evgeny is the single biggest wild card in Detroit’s prospect pool and there’s still a lot to be told about his game over the next season or two. Expect him to ruffle some feathers.
Your best guess is as good as mine, but he’ll likely be back in the QMJHL next year, as he’s still 19 until October 31st. Boo.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Wings’ top prospect will be revealed tomorrow, but it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out given the fact he hasn’t been named so far. Really, this guy shouldn’t even be a prospect anymore, and yet, here we are.
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