Youngster report – ninth week
KHL.ru continues to follow U23 players’ performances throughout the league. These are the best for the ninth week of action.
Matvei Michkov
F, HC Sochi, 2004
Week stats: 3 G, 3 (2+1) points, +2
Even with some ups and downs, Michkov is having another promising season in Sochi, posting almost a point a game with plenty of ice time – almost seventeen minutes – those are excellent numbers for a player of his age. Last week, Michkov was excellent for Sochi, starting with posting a goal and an assist in his team’s losing effort against Avangard. Unfortunately for its fans and personnel, Ryan Spooner potted a double that night, including the OT game winner as the Hawks went away with a 3:2, OT win. Michkov, however, assisted Artur Tyanulin’s tally in the first period and made it a 2:0 game in the middle frame, before Avangard’s rally. After a scoreless game as HC Sochi lost to Salavat Yulaev, on Thursday Michkov netted his 10th goal of the season – a career high for him – when his team had another loss, this time to Dinamo Minsk in Belarus (1:2). Sochi still has plenty of chances to reach the postseason this year, and Michkov will keep on playing a pivotal role for the team.
Vladislav Firstov
F, Torpedo, 2001
Week stats: 2 G, 4 (1+3) points, +2
Firstov is showing excellent progress this season – he was good already last year for Torpedo, but he has made a noticeable step forward in his game and production. Most notably, the forward had three points in Torpedo’s losing effort against Spartak on Nov 4, participating in all his team’s goals with the Muscovites snagging a 4:3 win. A few days later, on Wednesday, Torpedo returned to victory, with a 4:1 over Vityaz. That night, Firstov collected an assist, and ended the game with a plus-1 rating. Firstov is one of the players with the best progress this season, and his role within the Torpedo lineup is increasing at every game.
Mikhail Ilyin
F, Severstal, 2005
Week stats: 2 G, 1 (1+0) point, +3
Ilyin didn’t have the strongest week from a statistical point of view, yet he accumulated a solid plus-3 differential and netted a goal in Severstal’s losing effort against Kunlun Red Star on Nov 6 when he beat Jeremy Smith with a swift move in front of the crease after a smooth pass by Mark Barberio. Ilyin is another player who is having a strong progress since the start of the season, but not only. Last year, the forward lined up in 21 games for the Steelers, failing to net his first KHL goal. This season, the situation is much different, with the forward logging almost twelve minutes a night – but that’s increasing even further – and scoring at an interesting pace, more than half a point a game; an excellent pace for a player of his age. Expect Ilyin to even increase his role within Severstal by the end of the season.
Bogdan Konyushkov
D, Torpedo, 2002
Week stats: 2 G, 2 (0+2) points, +2
The Torpedo blueliner had another impressive performance on Nov 8, when Torpedo had a 4:1 win over Vityaz. It was one of the few nights when the defenseman logged fewer than twenty minutes, yet he had a strong impact at both ends of the ice, collecting two assists and ending the night with a plus-1 differential. He had a strong play in both Torpedo’s games, but that was the only game where he logged points. The Penza native blueliner is having another excellent season in Nizhny Novgorod, he’s currently the team’s fifth scorer and top producer from the blue line. The Igor Larionov’s squad is the third seed in the Western Conference.
Ilya Safonov
F, Ak Bars, 2001
Week stats: 3 G, 2 (1+1) points, even
The large-framed Ak Bars forward had a striking performance in Astana, helping his team coming off with a 3:0 win against Barys – Safonov netted the game-winner that night, opening the score in the middle frame and taking full advantage of Damir Zhafyarov’s first assist in the season. Safonov added an assist a few minutes later, when Dmitry Kagarlitsky made it a 2:0 game – he ended the game with a plus-2 differential. However, Safonov’s importance to his team can’t be resumed only by points; the forward has greatly improved on the dots, and in the season, he can boast more than 60% of wins – he only trails Kirill Semyonov in Ak Bars. The Kazan side is currently one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and Safonov’s role is increasing.
