PHL Anon
The Flyers moved back in the draft last night and traded the 18th overall pick to the Winnipeg Jets to get the 22nd overall pick. They drafted German Rubstov. Here’s what we can expect from the 6’1″ center.
German Rubstov, Center, Russian U18
6’1″, 174 lbs, Shoots Left
German Rubtsov spent the entire season in the newly founded program of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. This program is similar to the NTDP of USA Hockey. He has been the second best scorer of that Russian U18 selection.
Rubtsov is a highly-intelligent two-way center and is probably one of the players with the highest Hockey IQ of the entire draft. He possesses a great vision and can really distribute the puck very well. He seems to always be aware of his line mates and is a great setup guy. Rubtsov makes smart decisions with the puck and barely turns the puck over. He is a calm puck carrier and uses his strong puck-handling skills to dance through the neutral zone with speed.
His strides are powerful and he is hard to knock off the puck as he is an excellent puck protector and uses his long reach and body to make it nearly impossible to steal the puck. Although he is not an overly physical player, he is hard to knock off his position and can play with a physical edge if needed. He possesses smooth hands and has a good and accurate shot too. However, he is more of a pass first guy and does not shoot the puck very often.
Rubtsov understands the game mentally very well and is a leader on the ice. He is a coach’s dream as he combines work ethic, a strong two-way game and smarts. His backcheck is strong and he is very well aware of his defensive responsibilities. He often uses his stick to interfere passes and is excellent when using his active stick work to steal the puck or cut passing lanes. In the neutral zone, he is a pain to play against as he cuts passing lanes with an effective positioning game and is able to prevent a quick transition game by the opponents. Rubtsov is great in anticipating plays and can be used in all game situations.
Flyers believe were it not for Russian drug scandal involving U18 team, Rubtsov would have gone higher — top 10.
— Tim Panaccio (@tpanotchRET) June 25, 2016
Expert Opinions
-Christopher Ralph, THW’s prospect evaluator
Rubstov is the classic prospect that seemingly comes out of nowhere in his draft year to have an astronomical rise up many draft rankings. He had a standout World Jr. A Challenge for Russia with his magician-like hands on display. He’s a skilled and powerful player who makes his teammates better, while being a matchup nightmare for the opposition. He was Red Wings written all over him.”
-Alessandro Seren Rosso, Russian scout
Rubtsov is first-round material, a player with excellent hockey sense and puck skills, who has to work on some areas (physical play, faceoffs, overall defensive play), but that has all the tools to become a prolific player even at the NHL level. His smarts will allow him to overcome his small size issues.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1AkFxLGQXg
[H/T to The Hockey Writers]