If your only viewing of Prokhor Poltapov was at the recent U18 tournament, then you are likely to walk away wondering why he is not a slam dunk top 40 pick for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. If your viewings were his MHL games, then you may be inclined to wonder how he could even be in consideration for the second round. Poltapov spent the majority of his season playing for Krasnaya Armiya Moskva of the MHL, which resulted in a wide array of opinions among scouts. Normally, I do not like to place overwhelming weight into any tournament, as there are countless reasons why any player could over/underperform in a limited sample size. For me, these types of tournaments usually answer some questions I may have been unable to answer with the larger sample of club games. A player's stock may only change dramatically if the majority of the questions I had were answered in either a positive or negative way. This time around, Poltapov is the perfect example of my questions being answered in a good way. However, it is important that we establish the disconnect between Poltapov’s club play in Russia and his performance down in Texas before we can acknowledge how the U18’s boosted his stock.
Each of the major hockey nations have a unique development program where different skills, play-styles and systems are prioritized and taught to their youth as they progress through the junior hockey ladder. Where most Russians play an offensive, skill-based, dump-in style of hockey that tends to ignore the defensive details that make up the North American game, Poltapov stands out as a unicorn - a bold, fearless power forward who attacks the opposition head on and challenges them to handle his relatively rare combination of skill and physicality.
As the game has evolved, so has the nature of an NHL power forward. There was a time where pure size, strength and grittiness were once the main quantifiers, and players who matched this description would simply bully their way around the ice, regardless of their skating ability or their capacity for reading the game at a high level. Slow, lumbering players who are over-reliant on the tropes of old power forwards tend to lack the skill and deep understanding of the game required to make it in an NHL lineup. This is not the case with Prokhor Poltapov, who embodies what it means to be a modernized power forward. This is the disconnect between his club play and his U18 play - his playstyle is built for the North American game, so his ability to impact the game was instantly more notable on smaller ice. He has all the tools to project as a middle six power winger, maybe even a quality second line winger if he takes another step forward with his decision making.
| Prokhor Poltapov | 2021 NHL Draft Eligible |
|---|---|
| Position: RW, Shoots L | H/W: 5-11", 174 lbs |
| Stats to date (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS) | CSKA Moscow, KHL (1-0-0-0-0) |
| Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, MHL (61-25-27-52-30) | |
| Russia U18, WJC-18 (7-2-5-7-6) |
Skating -- There is no denying just how much Poltapov’s game is built around his skating. Whether it is a small distance race to beat his opponent for a loose puck, or a full end-to-end carry-in on the powerplay, he tries to make the most of his ability to explode out of a lull. It doesn’t take him long to reach high gear thanks to the length and power of his initial strides. He combines this eruption of speed with shifty lateral movement via crossovers, causing his opponents to respect his ability north, east and west. He’s sharp on his edges, allowing him to quickly spin off defenders in close proximity, but could stand to improve his ability to change direction on a dime through cuts and pivots. He doesn’t fully transfer his weight when making cuts that are 30 degrees or larger, resulting in a loss of speed and/or power on his shot.
Improving his sharp directional changes can provide him with an additional tool to attack open-space with instead of driving towards the defender the majority of the time. That being said his overall 360-degree maneuverability is still well above average for this class, and There are finer details in Poltapov’s skating form that could be improved to better his balance, acceleration, top speed, and directional mobility for NHL play, but it’s not a hindrance that’s going to completely hold him back if he doesn’t improve. Grade: 55
Beautiful sequence for Prokhor Poltapov. Skating backwards to draw the defender in, collects the pass, turns and shows quality puck control. At this point, he's opened up plenty of ice for himself.#2021NHLDraft #U18MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/SLOv9q4iRT
— Josh Tessler (@JoshTessler_) April 24, 2021
Shot -- I initially underestimated Poltapov’s shot. While the speed and accuracy are noteworthy, the real beauty of it is hidden within the release - one quick motion that doesn’t sacrifice power and placement. This fast, deceptive release allows him to catch unsuspecting defenders and goalies off guard. Pockets of space in dangerous scoring areas only exist for precious moments, so a smooth motion through your release means you have more time to disguise your true intentions before taking your shot, often resulting in hesitation from the opposition. The opposition has to consider both his shooting and puck handling abilities in dangerous areas, leaving opportunities for a misread that he can capitalize on. Poltapov has shown he can bait goaltenders, alter his shot direction with late weight shifts, and elevate the puck in tight by opening his blade in close-quarters. He makes the most of the brief windows where he has the puck in dangerous areas, looking to shoot first before making a pass. His goal scoring is at its best the closer he is to the net, but he is a shooting threat from anywhere on the ice. Grade: 55
Skills -- Skill is often falsely equated with flashiness, and while Poltapov has showcased that he has some flashy moves in his arsenal, the fine details of his skill are most notable when he is fully utilizing his wingspan alongside his skating and physicality. While it is not as flashy as open ice moves, it is more effective. Make no mistake, there are instances of him curling and dragging the puck in open ice to create space past opponents but his puck control is at its best with a defender pressuring him in close. He can make a quick directional change and tightly thread the puck in tight to his body while navigating through traffic. As mentioned before, his 360-degree mobility isn’t at the level where it alone can beat defenders so they may engage contact with Poltapov as he changes direction, but the combination of his sturdiness and puck-control typically is enough for him to maintain possession and make a play. He can blend his shot mechanics in with his stick handling, allowing him to effectively strike at any point from awkward body positions. Grade: 60
Prokhor Poltapov with his second of the night, and it is B-E-A-U-TIFUL. 6-1 Russia #U18Worlds pic.twitter.com/hCBJc33Qj7
— Josh Bell (@JoshuaBell31) May 1, 2021
Mar 05, 2020 Moscow U18: Prokhor Poltapov goal vs Spartak pic.twitter.com/975uP7Cobx
— HockeyRU20 (@HockeyRU20) March 11, 2020
Smarts -- There are flashes in every game where you see Poltapov showcase his explosive stride, his understanding of leverage, his puck control in tight and his goal scoring ability in the net-front and you go “wow, this guy is spectacular''. There are also moments in just about every game where his decision making frustrates you. Throwing away pucks, chasing players out of position, not identifying open teammates, and an over-reliance on earning open ice by trying to bully the defender out of his way are all red flags for me. The talent is nice, but if I cannot project you playing in a structured pro-hockey system then I have some concerns. Being able to efficiently create for your teammates, participate in a cycle, demonstrate calculated off-puck movement and utilize the chances your team creates for you are things I value highly, and while Poltapov showed he has the capacity to do these things, I was not convinced he was capable of doing it with consistency. As such, I came to the conclusion that he was to be left out of my second round until my biggest question was answered: does the nature of the MHL hold him back from capitalizing on his unique toolkit, meaning he would find greater success if he played elsewhere, or does he simply lack the structure required to successfully play a modern power-forward game in the NHL?
With the U18’s concluded; I now believe the former is more likely than the latter. There were more than a few instances where Poltapov showcased his intelligence, most notably his problem solving in tight areas that allow him to overcome variables with his body positioning and puck control. The U18’s allowed him to showcase his off-puck play in a more projectable way, as he identified where and when he had to move to provide the most coverage for his team (retreating to the blue line to cover for defense, rotating to the weak side to engage along the boards when the puck is rimmed around).
Where Poltapov’s smarts lack the most would be when play starts to break down and he needs to problem solve multiple variables at once in open-space, forcing him to make a play wherein engaging physically isn’t the ideal method towards solving this brand of problem. His inconsistent scanning habits can directly result in missing open teammates in favor of driving directly towards the other team. He has the tools to be a highly effective controlled transition player, but would benefit greatly from trying to establish a cycle or identifying a high danger pass off the rush instead of driving to the net like a monster truck or dumping the puck in. Grade: 50
Physicality -- Poltapov will chase down loose pucks, out-position and out-muscle players along the board to retain possession, and drive the net while pushing defenders out of his path with his superb upper body strength as he hunts for a scoring opportunity, however these habits can lead him to be in the wrong place at the wrong time resulting in lost possession, controlled entries against or even dangerous shots against. Most MHL teams don’t aggressively chase dump-ins when attacking, which robs Poltapov of potential chances to recover the puck along the boards amidst a heavy forecheck. Teams don’t commit to grinding board battles like they do in smaller rinks. Likewise, chasing hits and pursuing physical encounters when defending results in an abundance of open space for the opposition to counter-attack with. That being said, there is no denying that he is effective in physical encounters.
If flashiness falsely equates skill, then size (or lack thereof) falsely equates physicality. Smaller players with extremely strong lower-body muscles can position themselves with a lower center of gravity, allowing them to out-muscle bigger opponents and bully them around the ice. Poltapov’s lower body strength is notable, but it’s also worth mentioning that he is still a teenager. As he ages, he will need to add power to his lower body to consistently gain leverage over NHL athletes in tight spaces, but his penchant to gain body position along the boards will do him well once he has fully filled out his frame.
My biggest concern with his physicality is whether or not his upper body strength translates. Again, he positions himself to have a physics-based advantage as he pushes opponents around while carrying the puck, but there’s a stark difference between the NHL and the MHL. In order to reach his reasonable ceiling based on his current tools and how he uses them, he needs this part of his game to translate against the strongest hockey players in the world. A tough task, but not an impossible one, and the blueprint for how he uses his physicality appears to translate based on what we’ve seen so far. Grade: 55 (
Net drive by 2021 #NHL Draft Eligible Prokhor Poltapov followed by escaping a puck battle to hit the open man near the hashmarks to generate a scoring chance#MHL #KHL pic.twitter.com/mt50DlgSNo
— please draft eklund seattle (@dominantkubalik) October 16, 2020
Overall Future Projection (OFP): 55.5
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.