Konstyantyn Shevchenko: A Beast Amongst Boys (s95)

[der meister 3,277]

Standing at 6'7" tall and weighing right around 215 pounds, Ukrainian-born forward Konstyantyn Shevchenko is easy to pick out of a lineup of the league's top prospects. A dominant scorer in both Ukraine and, after fleeing the country following the Russian invasion, the Austrian ICE Hockey League, Shevchenko made a cameo in the VHLM  with the Houston Bulls. While he didn't register any overly impressive stat lines with just 3 goals and 6 points in 17 games, Shevchenko was clearly working on his game and, by the time the Bulls ultimately lost in the second round, was generating offensive opportunities on a more regular basis.

 

He's big but maybe not THAT big

 

Projected as a sure-fire first rounder in the upcoming VHLM Draft, Shevchenko brings several strong skills to the table. First, as we already mentioned, is his size. Regardless of what league he's playing in, Shevchenko is always one of, if not the absolute, biggest players in the league. Despite the stereotype, however, he is not a bumbling oaf with the puck, though his proclivity is certainly toward shot generation more than fancy stick handling or dishing to a teammate. Pros and cons there, as he will sometimes take a tough angle shot instead of passing to an open teammate, but at least he's attempting to generate something, and as the old hockey adage goes, "Good things happen when you get the puck to the net."

 

As is the case with a number of players with large frames, he's also remarkably strong for his age. Once he's fully developed and grown into his body, he should be the kind of player who can angle opponents off the puck and generate transitional offense off those turnovers. It's easy to envision him as a front-line forechecker who bodies an opponent off the puck, chips it back to the blueline, and then crashes the net looking for a quick rebound goal.

 

That stick whip!

 

As with any prospect, of course, there are flaws. Both his skating and defensive coverage need significant work if he's going to succeed at the highest level, and as mentioned he would be better served learning how to make use of his teammates more effectively. There's also the question of his attitude, which, based on some of his statements in the media, could be perceived as those of a bit of a mercenary, a hired gun willing to do work for the highest bidder. In Shevchenko's case, at least he is supposedly using the money to help finance the immigration of Ukrainian refugees out of the country in the face of Russian hostility, but that could still rub some managers the wrong way and could affect his long-term draft prospects.