The San Jose Sharks have drafted Russian center/left winger Yegor Spiridonov in the fourth round of the NHL Draft. Spiridonov is a 6-foot-2, 192-pound right-handed shot. Colleague Erik Fowle predicted a few days ago that the Sharks may have a chance to select Spiridonov, who was ranked between 38th and 63rd among skaters by various scouting agencies.
Colleague Sheng Peng has a bit of Future Considerations’ preview of Spiridonov:
From @FCHockey draft preview, Yegor Spiridonov: “An elite two-way center, Spiridonov is very strong on his skates and hard to knock off the puck. One concern is his skating stride…great hockey IQ”
Thought by some to be a second-round caliber prospect
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 22, 2019
Spiridonov recorded 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists) in 43 regular-season games in Russia’s under-20 league, the MHL, in 2018-2019. He has played 82 regular season games at the MHL level and recorded 60 total points, for a 0.73 points-per-game rate.
He also represented Russia in the Under-18 World Junior Championship, and put up six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in seven games. Dan Rusanowsky pointed out that he competed against players like Jack Hughes, Spencer Knight, and other first-round selections.
The 2018-2019 season was good to Spiridonov. Not only did he get close to a point per game in the MHL—good enough to get him into the All-Star Game—he also took home the silver medal in the U18WJC and Erik believes Spiridonov was the driving force on his line. He also received the bronze medal in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
When Erik wrote about Spiridonov during the week, he mentioned that Spiridonov is “on the same tier” as Valeri Nichuskin and Evgeni Svechnikov. Erik also mentioned that he isn’t the greatest skater and has limited offensive potential, but he’s defensively strong and has good vision. Spiridonov himself says he models his game after Ryan O’Reilly of the St. Louis Blues.
McKeen’s hockey calls Spiridonov a strong penalty killer, and hockeyprospect.com speaks highly of his ability to protect the puck.
Spiridonov is the second Russian-born player the Sharks have selected in the Draft, along with defender Artemi Knyazev. Spiridonov has two years left on his Russian contract, but colleague Sheng Peng reports that he’s indicated he’ll go wherever the Sharks ask him to after 2021.
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