Marat Khusnutdinov // Scouting Report #9
This is a picture of Marat Khusnutdinov playing for team Russia during the 2020 world U18 championships in Plymouth, MI, facing off against team Finland’s Valtteri Karnarantaas he protects the puck in the corner boards,
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 165lbs.
D.O.B.: 7/17/02
Stats: 13 Goals, 25 Assists, 38 Points, 44 games played
Team: SKA-1946 St. Petersburg, MHL
Position: Center
Blue line to Blue line time: 1.68
Most outstanding stat: 31 of points were on even strength
Letter, (A-F)=Consistency, A being most consistent
Number, (1-5)=tier of talent, 1 being highest
Rank:
53rd by EliteProspects.com
34th by Future Considerations
55th by TSN/Craig Button
41st by McKeens Hockey
12th by NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters)
35th by TSN/Bob McKenzie
24th by Dr. Tee Scouting
Scouting report:
What’s up guys? And for my 9th scouting report of the 2020 season I have someone that I really like, like a bunch of other prospects, but this is a player that most main ranking stations, and websites have in their 2nd round, and I just think that that’s crazy. This is Marat Khusnutdinov who is in my opinion probably one of, if not the best Russian prospect in this year's draft, let alone Europe in general. This year Khusnutdinov played on a very strong SKA-1946 St. Petersburg team, and towards the beginning of the year he was played very limited minutes with very limited power play time. It was fun for me to piece together this scouting report, and I hope you enjoy it. So without further to do let’s dive right in.
Move - 1B
Khusnutdinov can simply move around the ice swiftly and silently so well that it almost seems that every time he has the puck, or it’s around him something good will happen.
Although his blue line to blue line time is just under Lucas Raymond, (1.66), Quinton Byfield, (1.66), and Cole Perfetti’s, (1.65), I didn’t really find him to be an absolute speedster around the ice. Instead one of those technique, and agility guys. Do not get me wrong Khusnutdinov does have some pretty serious speed at times, and is definitely what I would call the wolf like Thomas Bordeleau instead of the cheetah like a Joni Jurmo. He can stay at full speed for the entirety, if not close entirety of a shift, which is very good, but I definitely would not call him a speedster. His agility around the ice is something that he never disappoints in though, period. The way that he can shake off defenders, and make room for himself in tight areas of the ice really helps him to be that skating threat that everyone wants him to be. He’s smooth on transitions, and pivots, and can change direction quickly for a young player like him which is pretty impressive to see really as a whole. He has great technique as well, following a nice long and good stride to, like I said, really make him the Wolf instead of the cheetah in this regard. I don’t really see any downfalls in his skating at all. If he can get a little bit, and just a little bit, faster, and a little bit stronger on his skates, even though he does really take advantage of his low center of gravity and has a wide stance going into corners, and areas around the ice where he can get knocked over or pushed off the puck, if he can get that little extra strength on us feet in will benefit him greatly, and I don’t know? Maybe we could be looking at the next Nathan MacKinnon or Jack Hughes?
Dangle - 2A
Khusnutdinov is a great puck moving center that can unleash his true potential with his hands at will.
Khusnutdinov has this feel to his game where once he gets the puck you’re not getting it back. He can protect the puck very well, and his overall puck control in general is very impressive. He has the complete ability to make some off the chart passes with his puck skills as well, I remember a time where he, and a linemate where coming in on a 2 on 0 and there was a 2nd defender back checking and closing up the passing lane, and the other was going to slide down and block the passing lane...so what does Marat do? Well he just isak Marat and does the coolest thing by making a in between the legs saucer pass on the tape of his linemate! Those are the things that I’m talking about. The free will, and ability to move the puck up the ice with some pretty slick mits to back it up, a good noggin as well as vision for his outstanding playmaking, and that ability to sneak into high danger areas with the control of the puck and let go a good shot. This combined with his skating makes for a lethal dual threat center. He can make tight turns, and maneuver through traffic with possession of the puck extremely well as well, even though he doesn’t have insane moves, he showcases everything that he can possibly do at the highest level that he can every shift which makes you really latch onto him, and his overall playing style.
Snipe - 2B
Khusnutdinov isn’t really a player that’s points will come from his coding in the next level. 46% of his shots were taken from high or medium danger areas which is not the best, but rather pretty okay.
Khusnutdinov has a pretty well rounded shot, it’s just more of how he really can utilize it sometimes, and where he can tend to shoot from. His shot is accurate, it’s not the heaviest because like a lot of smaller players out there he lacks a little bit in strength, it’s pretty accurate, and he has a good shot. He can tend to shoot from some pretty weird places to shoot from, even though the MHL is a league known for its consistent low danger shot attempts, it’s still something to take in consideration when drafting Khusnutdinov that he’s probably not going to be that top end scorer in the NHL. He’s most definitely going to be one of those shifty playmaking centers down the road. Despite all of this there are some good things in Khusnutdinov’s shot. He can show amazing flashes of getting the puck to highy danger areas, and really doing something with it, especially when it comes to getting a good shot off. He shows tremendous potential to be a dual threat player in the NHL, but as of now, it’s mostly his playmaking that’s driving him into that talented offensive player that he is. He does very well when coming in situations where he can use his agility to smoke a quick simple move to get around an opponent and then shoot, as well as when he gets sent a cross ice pass when nobody is covering where he can go in on the goalie one on one. He does consistently show what he can out of his shot like his stickhandling, and with time and work I do see his shooting portion of his game at least turning out compatible, and so he can work with it pretty effectively.
Defensive mindset - 1C
I don't know what else to say besides that Khusnutdinov has the potential to be a very good undersized two way centermen in the coming years if all goes right for him.
Khusnutdinov is just what I would call almost to the point of a “perfect” center. He is very unselfish with the puck on his stick, and if he has an opportunity to put the puck on a teammates stick, Khusnutdinov will not only take it, but make it work every single time. He is very fast to get back in the defensive zone and help apply pressure, he’s constantly in movement, and is one of those “hyper” players that just can’t stop. When play shifts to the offensive side of the game he immediately wreaks havoc on opposing defenders almost to the point where they are so overwhelmed that they have know choice but to give away the puck. Despite his high energy game, Khusnutdinov isn’t a center to flee the defensive zone looking for that long breakaway pass. He plays gritty in front of the net, and in tight areas along the boards, and in puck battles because he just simply wants the puck in the offensive zone as fast as possible. He plays a very smart positional game in the defensive zone as well as all the things I just said, and when it comes to that slow cycle game Khusnutdinov will stay in his position and add pressure to his man very well but he’s basically saying, “speed things up or your team’s going to get scored on!” He makes defenders panic a little but when he comes at them whicbreally translates into me saying that he really is one of the better two way centers in this year's draft. If he can refine his game a bit, and really translate his game to that “dual coverage” type of play as well as still maintaining his aggressive play style, we could be looking at a Johnny Gaudreau mixed with a Ryan Kessler here.
Overall - 1C
Overall, Khusnutdinov is one of the biggest steals in this year's draft. He has an amazing skill set, and if he can put that to use a little more often then this is a potential top 6 center that we’re looking at. He has amazing skating, and playmaking ability which makes him a scary fast paced player which tends to be the worst ones for defenders at times. I see Khusnutdinov becoming that Liam Foudy Steel of the 2020 NHL draft.
Aggressive, playmaking center
Player Comparison: Sidney Crosby
Don’t take this one too seriously, but they play a very similar game. Crosby, and Khusnutdinov both wreak havoc on defenders with their playmaking and vision. They can shoot the puck too, but prefer to pass, they also are very good skaters, using there edge work to cover a lot of ice in a short amount of time, and have a good defensive game positionally, and in front of the net.
More reports: Scouching, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M41dEfoCr30