Someone like Nikita Tyurin won't find himself playing for any of the Detroit Red Wings affiliates anytime soon, but as a fifth-round pick, he's someone you keep tabs on for the skill-set he brings to the system.
Someone like Tyurin has shown nominal two-way qualities, which can get more pronounced in time. But he's also a puck-mover, and it's a skill that'll make him valuable in the system at some point later in the decade.
He already carries decent length, clocking in at 6'0, even if I'd like to see him add another 20-25 pounds while he develops in Russia, and, later, North America should he choose to come over.
By which point, the Red Wings will likely be looking to fill out what I call the "outer core." Those are the players you don't sign to the longest or most lucrative deals, and they're churned every few seasons for players developing in the system.
This is where Tyurin, in time, can come in. You fast forward five or six seasons down the road, he's likely standing at 6'2, weighing in at 195 lbs, having mastered his strengths and addressed his weaknesses. That gives you a well-rounded player capable of landing in the third pairing.
Nikita Tyurin has puck-moving potential that'll make him valuable on the bottom pairing
Yesterday afternoon, I talked about how Will Murphy could ultimately fit into the lineup down the road as the sledgehammer on the third pairing. Someone like Tyurin would compliment that sledgehammer player, whether it's Murphy or someone else at some point in 2030.
But the question is, what makes him a great puck-mover? One reason is that he's a good, slick skater. He's got two jobs as a puck-mover: Keeping the puck away from opponents looking to throw off the sequence, and keeping his head up while looking for someone to dump the puck to.
His skating ability keeps him from pushing the panic button, letting mismatches develop before firing it off. But let's not write off his defensive prowess, since, as a blueliner, that's gotta be a priority, too.
He's got an excellent way of reading opponents, meaning he can skate up and challenge them. This forces opposing skaters into either making erratic passes or looking for ways to extend a sequence.
Problem for opponents is, Tyurin's got speed on his side. And that's a quality that could take him a long way once he's ready to up his game.
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