When the Boston Bruins signed Georgii Merkulov on April 9, 2022, there was a great deal of excitement. The Russian forward was a top free agent from the NCAA and immediately slotted in as a top-five prospect in the Bruins’ system. Since that signing, he’s continued to trend up and is among the best rookies in the AHL this season.
After going undrafted and relatively unnoticed in his first year of draft eligibility back in 2019, playing with the MHL’s Kapitan Stupino, Merulov made a change. He decided to head overseas, joining the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms in 2019-20. After two seasons with the Phantoms - potting 73 points (20 goals, 53 assists) in 74 games - he was still undrafted.
In 2021-22, Merkulov moved to the NCAA to play for Ohio State University and really took the next step forward in his game. He tallied 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists) in 36 games and was named to the First All-Star Team and All-Rookie Team in the Big Ten. He was rewarded for his play by the Bruins who jumped on the chance to add him to their system. He got a taste of the AHL that season, playing in eight games to finish out the year, collecting five points (one goal, four assists) in eight games.
He’s now in the AHL full-time and has continued to see his stock rise. He’s up to 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 44 games this season, leading the P-Bruins. He also sits second in points among all rookies. He just continues to get better as the season rolls on too. In February (so far), he has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in six games, the most of all AHL players this month.
Behind the scoring line, the numbers continue to show a strong season for Merkulov. His 0.86 points per game pace is fourth among rookies. The centreman sits third on the team with a 0.78 game score* per game, which is also fourth among all rookies in the league and sixth among all DY+4 players. He also has an impressive 70.8% goals for percentage, leading all rookies, and his relative goals for percentage, the difference in team goals when the skater is on the ice versus when they’re not, is 22%, seventh among rookies.
Moving away from the numbers, Merkulov continues to impress. At 5-foot-11 and 181 pounds, he is below average in terms of size. Often, this leads to a struggle in getting to the middle of the ice and the high-danger areas. For Merkulov, that doesn’t appear to be an issue.
Merkulov has 121 shot attempts this season, with 80 of those finding the net (66.11%). Of those 80 shots, 39 of them have come from inside the house. You can see there’s also a high concentration of shots that come in close, where the majority of his goals come from. He does have a tendency to shoot from the right side of the ice as well, just outside the house, which is actually where he shoots from on the power play. Here’s the shot map at even strength: 
Based on these charts, it’s pretty obvious that Merkulov doesn’t have any problem getting to the middle of the ice. He could stand to tighten up the number of shots he takes from the perimeter, especially since all of his even-strength goals come from in close and has shown improvement in this area throughout the season. So, we know he’s getting to the right places on the ice, but how is he doing it?
Note: Merkulov is number 10 in all video clips
Merkulov Goal 1:
This clip is a great representation of how Merkulov is potting his goals. With his defender collecting the pass and space in front of him, the Russian forward curves into the slot, ensuring that there’s a clear path for his teammate to find his stick. He then grabs the puck behind him while slightly stepping into the reception, using his body to create separation from the closest defender and giving him a view of the net. Knowing that he’s surrounded by defenders, he quickly pulls the puck around him for a quick snapshot and a goal.
Merkulov is extremely strong at finding the soft ice around the net. He always seems to be able to slide behind or through defenders like they don’t even notice him. He consistently uses his body to protect the puck and when contested uses his quick hands to move the puck to safety or get a quick shot off. At even strength, this is mainly how he gets his goals, or from rebounds.
Projecting to the next level, his even strength goal total will likely slightly drop due to this though. NHL defenders will be much stronger at limiting the middle of the ice and controlling rebounds. But he will still be able to find some success thanks to his offensive awareness.
Merkulov PP Goal:
On the power play, Merkulov changes it up and follows suit of another Russian, Alex Ovechkin, from his office at the top of the circle. Merkulov has consistently been improving this one-time shot this season and is at a point where he’s extremely dangerous from this spot. He gets so much power behind that release, and it comes off his stick like a cannon that goalies don’t stand a chance against.
Merkulov Playmaking:
This clip shows off a few aspects of Merkulov’s game that I’d like to highlight. He utilizes crossovers to change direction numerous times in this drive, cutting in and out and making himself unpredictable. Receiving the pass in the neutral zone (in stride I might add), he cuts to the outside after seeing an extra defender in the middle. Leaning into the defender and holding the puck away, he shows off that great offensive awareness with multiple looks to the middle of the ice. Once he has his lane clear, he makes a great pass across right to his teammate’s stick for a goal.
Merkulov does a great job feeding the slot and the middle of the ice regularly. His vision in the offensive zone is excellent and his puck protection allows him to draw defenders in while he scans the ice. The offensive potential for Merkulov is very promising.
Merkulov FO, DEF, Breakout:
While there’s a lot to like about Merkulov’s game, there are still improvements to make. First, his faceoff percentage this season is 49% and this is an area he’s been struggling with lately. Especially in the defensive zone, his team needs him to start winning more faceoffs. This may come as he spends more time in the pro leagues, but if he’s going to remain as a centreman, it does need to improve.
Merkulov’s defensive game has taken huge strides this season, but it is still a work in progress. He doesn’t have the same level of awareness in the defensive end that he shows in the O-zone. Merkulov’s issue is that he’s always looking to burn defenses, so he tends to play a little too high at times and is more focused on looking for the lane forward rather than looking for where his opponents are.
He doesn’t shoulder-check or scan the ice often enough in his end. By committing to the defensive side of the puck and implementing this, he could drastically take his game to the next level. That being said, he has taken strides this season. At the 16-second mark, you can see him attack the carrier and get his stick in the lane to prevent the attacker from carrying it in deep. But then, as he crosses the ice, he doesn’t note the attacker behind him that’s wide open in the slot. Luckily for Merkulov, his defender stepped up to take the potential opportunity away.
This also shows how well he reads the breakout though, jumping up as soon as his teammate has the puck, ultimately creating a two-on-one and an excellent scoring chance.
Merkulov Shot Block:
Again, I want to reiterate that Merkulov has taken steps forward in his defensive game. In this clip, when his teammate blows an edge, Merkulov jumps into action and attacks the carrier. I particularly appreciate how he attacks the carrier, leading with his stick toward the puck and turning both feet to block as much space as he can. He blocks the shot here, deflecting it out of danger. Merkulov has been getting into shot lanes more and more this season, so the commitment is there and is improving.
From an undrafted prospect to an NCAA free-agent signing to an AHL star for the P-Bruins, Merkulov has come a long way. He’s easily a top-five prospect for the Bruins and could even be top three or four. In the NHL, he’s likely a bottom-six player but will be able to provide consistent secondary scoring. He has the skill to be on the second power-play unit as well, thanks to that booming one-timer.
In order to get there though, Merkulov will need to continue to improve his faceoff ability and work on his defensive awareness. His defensive game has noticeably improved, but there is still work to be done to be successful at the next level. The Bruins and Bruins’ fans should be very happy with where their prospect is at this point though.
*Game score is a metric that takes into account goals, primary assists, secondary assists, shots, penalties, faceoffs, on-ice goals for, and on-ice goals against.
With data from AHLTracker.com and video from InStat