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Mika_Kandinsky · 06-03-2019, 05:46 PM

Siberia Sports Looks at the Upcoming SHL Draft, and Where it Might Take Mika Kandinsky

The SHL draft is right around the corner and all the GMs are getting ready and prepping their picks and moves. It's a day full of excitement and drama and it's a hard day to predict. So, where will center Mika Kandinsky from Siberia, Russia end up as he is drafted into the top league in the world? Siberia Sports is going to break things down and see where Kandinsky could possibly go in the draft later this week.

Mika Kandinsky, a center, who was drafted to the St. Louis Scarecrows at the beginning of S47 is eligible now to be drafted into the SHL for S48. Mika came into the SMJHL never having played on North American Ice before and quickly had to adjust to the smaller ice and style of play. He was embraced by his new team right from the start and he had plenty of mentors in the locker room to help ease him into the league. He played for the Scarecrows on the 4th line, and was able to contribute with limited minutes. In his first regular season, Mika played 50 games with 3 goals, 8 assists, +3, 18 PIMs, and a Face off % of just over 50%. He continued to improve over the course of the season, being one of the highest improving players in the league, and put on a good show in the playoffs on a stacked St. Louis team. In his first appearance in the playoffs Mika Scored 3g and 1a in 13 playoff games. A greatly improved goals per game average from regular season to playoffs went noticed around the league. It especially caught the eye of management for the Russian National team.

Mika was chosen to play in both the IIHF team and the WJC team for Russia, which is coming up in just a few days. There Mika will get a chance to prove himself on the international stage both against his peers and also grown men and pros. His game play has put him on the map and all of this to say, his draft stock is rising.

There is a very good chance that not only will Kandinsky go in the first round of the draft, but it's a good chance he's a top 5 pick. It's a draft where centers are a rare commodity, especially centers with as much skill as Mika Kandinsky has shown so far. He can be a pivotal talent that can help a franchise turn it around. His ceiling is a superstar in the SHL and any team that picks him will be getting a steal. For any team looking to restock the cupboards of young talent, Mika is a perfect player to bring in. Not only is he a skilled hockey player now, he also is very dedicated to improving his game and constantly getting better. His time in the SMJHL has ignited his passion even further.

"Playing pro has really opened my eyes to what higher level hockey is. I love training and coming to the rink every day for practice. I love expanding my game and getting better. I'm also getting better at playing for my team and doing all the right things to be more effective as a teammate. I really came in and focused really hard on improving my defensive game in order to be the biggest help to my team. I think I'm much more passionate about improving now than I was when I was first drafted. I'm really looking forward to the SHL draft. I know I'll be able to keep on track with improving and I'll be a really great asset to whoever drafts me." Kandinsky told us.

So, where does Kandinsky stack up in terms of competition and other players who have been chosen at the top of the draft? First let's take a look at some of the players who were drafted to the SHL in the first five picks of round 1 of the S47 SHL draft.

1. Jax Duggan - Winnipeg took Defenseman Jax Duggan at first overall. At the time of his drafting, Jax Duggan had 275 tpe. That's a solid amount of training and skill in a young player in the league. Kandinsky currently has 285 tpe going into the draft. So right there, we see that Kandinsky stacks up to the skill of the top pick of the previous year's draft. This writer would claim, that it's not a crazy notion to think that Kandinsky could possibly go first overall especially if Tampa Bay is looking for a center in this draft.

2. Gunnar Söderberg - Tampa Bay used their second overall pick on Gunnar Söderberg, a playmaking right winger from Sweden. At the time of his draft, Söderberg had 286 tpe. This puts Kandinsky about even with him. All things considered, a center would be slightly more value than a right winger.

3.  Corey Kennedy - Picked 3rd overall by Chicago, Corey Kennedy is a big defenseman out of Ireland who had 275 tpe upon time of draft.

4.  Filip Zadina - Zadina, a skilled right winger was picked by The Pride at 4th overall and he had a whopping 305 tpe at time of draft! He also had a huge bank account. It's unclear why Zadina fell to 4th in this draft, but he was a beast for the Scarecrows and played with Kandinsky for his rookie season.

5. Espen Knutsen Jr. - Picked by Tampa Bay at number 5, Knutsen is a center like Mika. While a little smaller than Mika, Knutsen had 275 tpe at the time of his draft. Very comparable to Kandinsky, but Kandinsky is just slightly higher.

This data shows us that Kandinsky absolutely belongs in the conversation for going in the top 5 picks of the SHL draft this year compared to where similarly skilled players were taken last year. These numbers reinforce the fact that it's definitely within the realm of reason that Kandinsky gets picked at 1st overall. If a team is looking for a center at the top of the draft, they could do very well grabbing Kandinsky. Now, since Tampa Bay did take Knutsen at 5 last year, the odds of them using their first overall on another center might be low. But if they think he is the best available player, they should pick him and they can then be assured that they will be stacked down the middle for years to come. In 2-3 season the Tampa Bay Barracuda could be unstoppable down the middle with Knutsen and Kandinsky leading the top two lines some day.

Now let's take a look at Mika Kandinsky's competition of fellow rookies that are looking to go early in this year's draft and see how Kandinsky can stack up to them.

1. Travis Bitties from Detroit. Detroit took Bitties at 1st overall. He was a no brainer. He had the highest earned tpe out of all rookies in the draft and was a clear cut favorite for first overall. Rumor has it that Bitties is retiring early and is burning out at the pro level.

2. Alex Thorstorm from Colorado. Thorstorm went 2nd overall in the SMJHL entry draft, but he is a goalie so it's not too comparable to Mika. That being said, if a team is desperate for a goalie, it could make Mika fall to a lucky team in the draft.

3. Kaspars Claude from Vancouver. Claude would be good competition with Kandinsky in the draft. Claude is currently sitting at 293 tpe, just slightly above Kandinsky. This could be a situation that comes down to team needs. Claude being an excellent pick for a team needing to prioritize defense in the draft.

4. Piotr Horvat from Kelowna. Horvat is currently sitting at 273 tpe, 15 behind Kandinsky. Kandinsky projects to be a better pick higher in the draft now.

5. Gordon Bombay from Lethbridge. Bombay is currently sitting at 243 tpe. This is surely disappointing for Lethbridge at such a high pick. Mika has far surpassed Bombay at this point. And they are both centers on top of it. St. Louis had an absolute steal when they were able to select Kandinsky at 10 overall.

The data from the SMJHL S47 draft solidifies Kandinsky going in the top 5. It more likely solidifies him going in the top 3. Kandinsky has shown nothing but solid improvement while some of his peers have flamed out at the pro level. There are certainly other great prospects to choose from, but will a team make a mistake again and pass him up, letting him slide in the draft to a lucky team bold enough to pick up the Russian center? The fear of drafting a Russian might play in the back of some GMs minds, but it would be a big mistake to let Kandinsky fall to a rival team. He's shown that he can rise and overtake his peers that were drafted over 5 spots higher than he was in the SMJHL, so why shouldn't we think he would do it again? He's a player who loves the game and he has all the tools. At 6'1" 220lbs Kandinsky is a big and strong. An aspect that is often not talked about, but it gives him that extra edge on the ice making him incredibly hard to push off the puck. He's the type of player that comes around only ever so often.

To give the full picture of where Kandinsky stand among his peers, let's compare his season stats to those stats of other centers already compared, Knutsen and Bombay.

Mika Kandinsky's season stat line was:  50 GP | 3 G | 8 A | 11 P | +3 |18 PIM | 24 hits | 46 SHT | 6.52sht% | 7.6 avg minutes per game

Knutsen's score line for his draft -1 season looks like this: 50gp | 4g | 17a | 21p | -3 | 41pms | 30 hits | 66 shots | 6.06 Sht% | 14.05 avg minutes per game

Comparing Kandinsky to Knutsen shows that Knutsen had a more productive season. However, if you look closely you'll notice that Knutsen averaged almost double the ice time that Kandinsky saw during his rookie season. Kandinsky was on the fourth line of a stacked St. Louis team and was not able to see the quality minutes that Knutsen saw. Still, Kandinsky only scored one less goal and only had six less assists. Kandinsky also sported a better shooting percentage and a much better +/-. Kandinsky made his line better at 5v5 and it is reflected in his +/- stats. Mika also threw his body around per time on ice. The stat lines show that the two players are fairly close in skills and stats. The difference is that with more ice time, Kandinsky can grow and become even more productive which we will surely see in his second season in the J. This solidifies in this writer's mind that Kandinsky should go no lower than pick 5. However, when looking at the incoming draft class, he should be held higher as there isn't a center of Knutsen's caliber in the current incoming class.

Let's take a look at Mika's closest competition when it comes to draft stock in the center position.

Gordon Bombay's stat line is: 50 GP | 5 G | 9 A | 14 P | -2 |13 PIM | 46 hits | 56 SHT | 8.93sht% | 16.6 avg minutes per game

Kandinsky only had three less points than Bombay while playing more than half the time that Bombay did. On top of that, Bombay saw special teams time and 5 of his assists came on the power play. Kandinsky got all of his points at even strength and never saw special teams time on St. Louis. That's impressive for Kandinsky. He out scored Bombay in 5v5 points despite playing less than half the amount of ice time. Bombay had a slightly higher shooting percentage, but it's small and not something I would be worried about. What's amazing on Kandinsky's part is that he only had 10 less shots and played from the 4th line all season with no special teams time. The kid is a stud and is going to explode next season in a bigger role with his team. Bombay was picked 5 picks ahead of Kandinsky, has 40 less tpe earned and has a stat line that doesn't hold up to his draft position in comparison to Kandinsky and his position. This is another piece to the puzzle of Kandinsky going early in the first round of the SHL draft.

With the draft happening this Wednesday, teams should be paying attention to their scouts and undoubtedly the scouts have had their eye on Mika since he burst onto the scene. We've made our case here today for the possibility of him even going 1st overall. It might be seen as a bold choice by some, but looking at the stats, it doesn't seem too far fetched to think he could go at first. If a team believes in him and needs a big skilled center, he very well could be their guy. He's also been a good presence in the locker room and active around the league. All of Russia is rooting for him in the upcoming draft and is hoping he lands himself in the best possible situation. It would be a huge win for Russia to see him taken 1st overall or in the first 5 picks of the draft. He's made a splash very quickly around the league and that momentum could lead him right into being a high draft pick. His stock keeps on rising while others around him have been falling. Could we see a meteoric rise to the top of the draft boards?

There have been several rumors floating around the league that many gms have Kandinsky high on their boards. Some have already speculated that he's going to be off the board by pick 5. There are also rumors that a few gms have reached out to him to gauge his interest in their teams, but also speculate that there is slim chances of them being able to get him. Could a team make a move and trade up into the earlier positions in order to snag him up? It's a move that could make sense and also could make a career for a GM bold enough to trade assets to move up to secure him. Things have been tight and secretive so far so no one can be sure how draft day will unfold. Make sure to tune in live and hopefully see our hometown hero get drafted first overall!

Stay tuned for an upcoming interview with Mika Kandinsky about how he's feeling about going into the draft this year!