A Trio of Russian Defensemen are Making Waves in Their Development
Yes, there are other Russian Defensemen out there
By Nick Bass
The hype and craze of Alexander Nikishin is reaching nuclear levels and it’s completely deserved. 6’4 defensemen with good skating and the ability to play heavy minutes in every situation don’t grow on trees but the Canes have a 23-year old that fits that mold. Vladimir Grudinin, who I have long enjoyed as a player, is coming into his own for Severstal. He kills penalties, he gets some power play time, he gets about 19 minutes a night. Alexander Pelevin is on pace to have his best statistical year in the VHL for Torpedo-Gorky. But that isn’t the trio that I would like to spend some time talking about.
Recently, a list came out from a Russian publication ranking 2006-born defenseman. In first, to no ones surprise (at least I hope), was Anton Silayev. Then, the list gets really nice for Canes fans to look at.
Timur Kol is 2nd, Alexander Siryatsky is 3rd, and Roman Shokhrin is 4th. The Canes hold 3 out of the top 4 best 2006-born Russian defenseman. What makes this more interesting is that they were each taken in the 2024 draft. Kol was drafted in the 6th round (#168 overall, picked 2nd out of these 3), Siryatsky was picked in the 4th round (#124 overall, picked 1 out of these 3), and Shokhrin was picked in the 6th round (#184 overall, picked last out of these 3).
The goal of this piece is to inform everyone of these 18-year old’s, since everyone seems to be happy about seeing the young guys succeeding. But I would like to spend some time introducing the player and explaining why they find themselves in the top 4 out of all 2006-born Russian defensemen.
Timur Kol
Truthfully, I have watched a lot of Timur Kol this year. From catching a few MHL games to watching the Saint Petersburg Hurricanes (SKA), I have seen a lot of Timur Kol tape. I like a lot of what I see and it’s obvious that SKA sees what I like as well, with half of his games coming at the KHL level (so far).
First up, he’s got great size. He’s 6’4, 205 pounds and he looks every bit of it on the ice. He uses this size to close gaps in coverage and disrupt passes opponents are trying to make. His skating is pretty good, which is always a positive with any player that is 6’4. Sometimes, his brain can’t work as fast as his feet, which can get him in trouble with trying to break out from his own zone. The offense needs some work. He has a heavy, heavy shot which he loves to unleash from the point. But the passing is shaky and may never be a true, dynamic part of his game. He can make the simple pass but the more lucrative or tougher passes will never be his game.
All in all, there is a reason Kol is 2nd. He’s a towering defenseman that already has the defense half of the game mostly figured out. If he can continue developing the offense, he’s a very, very interesting prospect to keep track of. Kol is currently averaging around 11:30 minutes per game at the KHL level, which is impressive for just an 18-year old, even though he doesn’t have a point. At the MHL level, Kol is averaging over 25 minutes a night (25:16 to be exact) and has 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points in 11 games. Since I know people will ask, Kol’s contract runs until the end of the 2025/26 season.
Alexander Siryatsky
You’ll notice a trend of these defensemen, because Alexander Siryatsky is another guy with prototypical size. Interestingly, at the draft, he was listed at 6’2, 157 pounds. In October, his height and weight were updated to being 6’4 at 183 pounds, which is much better from a hockey standpoint.
Siryatsky’s defensive ability is already on solid foundation. He’s very conservative, always trying to be safer rather than risky. He’s consistently able to get of high pressure situations when opponents are bearing down. One thing that he needs to work on is being more physical. His physical frame last season didn’t help things along, but even this year in 28 games at the VHL level, he only has 5 hits. His skating is pretty good, being one of the best attributes in his game currently. Siryatsky’s playmaking is solid, but he might never be dynamic in that regard. One big improvement from his draft year has been his hockey IQ, knowing when to jump in.
All in all, Siryatsky has a lot of intrigue. His defensive game is already decent and with the developments in his hockey sense offensively, it makes for a more complete player. Last year, Siryatsky spent the majority of the year at the MHL level but this year, he’s spent most of the year at the VHL level. In 28 games, Siryatsky has 7 points with all of them being assists. In those games, he’s averaging 11:38 TOI per game. Since people will ask, Siryatsky’s contract ends at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Roman Shokhrin
Shokhrin was used as a 4th line forward at times for Loko-76 at the MHL level, which has aided in his playmaking ability, which is pretty solid. He can move in transition, which the forward playing time definitely helped with. The space creation category makes a lot of sense when you realize that Roman Shokhrin is 6’5 and 200 pounds. This behemoth of a human was being used as a forward, AND IT WORKED. His shot is also decent, being able to locate the corners through traffic.
Defensively, Shokhrin is hyperactive. He wants to hit you and disconnect the player from the puck. He wants to stop a play before it happens, which gets him in trouble from time to time. But he’s been better this year about being more conservative when it comes to this.
Shokhrin has split his time this season between two different MHL teams. With the Silver Division Loko-76, Shokhrin has played 7 games and has 5 points (all assists) in those games while averaging 20:45 TOI. Funnily, he has 29 penalty minutes, mainly due to a 25 PIM outing back in October. With the Gold Division Loko, Shokhrin has played in 24 games, with 1 goal and 12 assists for 13 points in those games while averaging 19:45 TOI. He has outproduced his production from last season while playing in the tougher division of the league.
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