At just 14 years old, Nizhny Tagil, Russia native Randim Randulov is already being compared to some of the greatest SHL players to ever play the game. The 5'6" 140lb Randulov has shown that he deserves to be one of the most highly touted prospects in the world, as a plethora of scouts who watched him at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge this season told their teams and GMs in a frenzy. Randulov try's his best to remain out of the spotlight, he doesn't seem to enjoy the attention and often his father tries to shield him from interested media members and scouts who want a word with him.

The few times he does speak to people outside of his team you start to get the idea of what kind of kid he is. Always giving credit to his teammates and trying his best to shy away from the spotlight. It is very evident that he is leaps and bounds better than anyone on the ice, but if you spoke to him without ever seeing him play you would think his team is full of superstars and he is just another player on the team.

Randim's father, Matvei, tells people that his sons strongest assets are his unselfishness with the puck and how much he truly loves the game. It's easy to see how intelligent he is on the ice and how well he skates compared to his peers but he is constantly making extremely high skill level passes to set teammates up to score when it would have been much easier for him to score himself. Randim truly loves seeing his teammates succeed and is usually more excited than they are when they score.

Looking ahead, Randim gets excited when he talks about the SMJHL. The normally shy and quiet kid lights up and is almost giddy. He watches as much SHL and SMJHL hockey as he can and he admits he will have to adjust to the size and speed of a much different SMJHL game, but watching him play now it seems crazy to think that he won't be an immediate star.

Randulov has received attention from SHL stars as well. Players who want to help the youngster reach his full potential. Calgary Dragons legend Esa Anrikkanen has reached out to Randulov as well as Randy Randleman and Shane Gagner, who mentored Randulov when he was 12 years old at one of Randleman's hockey camps. Randleman told Anrikkanen that he knew this kid was special from the moment he saw him step on the ice. The two of them have tried their best to keep in contact and help out Randim as much as they can.

Despite all the hype Randim is receiving, Matvei does his best to try and keep his son grounded. This may be why Randim seems so hesitant to talk to anyone outside of his team or speak about his ability. Matvei tells him to try and ignore it and just play the game. To not worry about comparisons or expectations and to stay true to the game he loves. If Randim can do the will reach his goals and become an SHL player one day.

At just 14 years old, Randim Randulov is already receiving national attention. Nobody can say for sure that he will be a superstar, but if his attitude and love for the game are any indication he should be able to live up to the mantle that is seemingly already anointed to him.