Alucard 46 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 The Nez Big Thing 27 July, VHLM.com Oslo Storm winger Evgeny Nezhmetdinov has been making waves in the VHLM this season With the VHLM season having now passed the mid-way point, GMs from the VHL will be casting a scrutinous eye over all of those players who are eligible for the S45 VHL Entry Draft. One player who has been making sizeable waves in recent weeks is the young Kazakh sensation, Evgeny Nezhmetdinov. After an inconsistent start to the season, the winger has since found his form and has contributed 13 points in his last 8 games. Over the course of his first 24 games in the VHLM, Nezhmetdinov scored just 11 points; a disappointing beginning for a player who arrived in Oslo with potential superstar reputation. His ability to handle the puck was never in doubt—he showed flashes of brilliance from game 1 against Ottawa—but his end product had some Storm fans questioning whether or not he should be playing on the top line ahead of the prolific Giovanni Reuel. At one point he went eleven games without scoring, but still there were other Storm fans who were calling for patience, claiming that Nezhmetdinov should be allowed time to settle in to a league where the preferred style of hockey is more physically demanding than that played in his native Kazakhstan. His performances in recent weeks will have left those fans feeling completely justified, and his doubters must be excited to have been proved wrong. With 24 points in his last 25 games, the pacy winger is now looking very much like a potential first round pick, and those close to him have spoken glowingly of his dedication to training. He currently leads all Oslo Storm players in plus/minus (+31), and his 6 game-winning goals (tied for 5th in the league) shows that the diminutive forward can come up big when it counts. It also seems that playing alongside Le’Sean Coutzen has benefitted him in unforeseen ways; for a player with a reputation as a creator, Nezhmetdinov has relatively few assists (18), and one wonders if the respect that opposing teams have for Coutzen has allowed Nezhmetdinov more time and freedom to find space and to find the net. He has scored 17 goals this season, and—more impressively—ranks 5th in the league in shot percentage. Nezhmetdinov turns on the afterburners vs Ottawa By far the most impressive performance that the young forward has put in this season was in the Storm’s 6–3 win in Ottawa, which saw him awarded the game’s First Star after contributing 2 goals and 3 assists. He almost single-handedly picked the Lynx apart, having a hand in all but one of his side’s goals on the night. In addition to this, he has had six 2-point games to his name (all but one coming in the last 25 games), and two 3-point games (both of which have come in his last 11 games), and only a fool would bet against him upping those numbers by the season’s end. What is clear is this: Nezhmetdinov has settled into life in Oslo, and his performances are continuing to improve. He now looks far and away the best winger in the draft, and while the likes of Hamilton, Kyanon, Weinstein, and the Cleganes may rank ahead of him, he may well be the first port of call for any team in need of offensive reinforcements. (551 words) Molholt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan036 4,585 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 If you fell to me in the 3rd round I'd be hype, but I doubt that will happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard 46 Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 If you fell to me in the 3rd round I'd be hype, but I doubt that will happen You could always start a smear campaign about me "Oh yeah, that Nezhmetdinov guy... I hear he uh... puts babies on spikes..." eaglesfan036 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,580 Posted July 27, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 27, 2015 Forwards are most important anyway. Oh and puns, puns everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,580 Posted July 27, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 27, 2015 You could always start a smear campaign about me "Oh yeah, that Nezhmetdinov guy... I hear he uh... puts babies on spikes..." smear campaign or trying to become VHL's most popular member? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard 46 Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 smear campaign or trying to become VHL's most popular member? I guess that depends how people around here feel about babies on spikes! Of course, any Eddie Izzard fans probably love me right about now. Thank you for flying Church of England; cake or death? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarch 2,957 Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 You picked an ex Saskatoon blade. I can help in your smear campaign. Gorlab and your player once lived in the same city. 3rd round here you come Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,580 Posted July 27, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 27, 2015 Wait are you actually in Ireland? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard 46 Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Wait are you actually in Ireland? Yep. I live in Dublin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,580 Posted July 27, 2015 Admin Share Posted July 27, 2015 well damn that's cool The European numbers are growing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast 887 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Content 3/3 - This is solely based on the puns that are in here. Perfect work. It's nice that the production has finally started going the way that you were hoping, and I'm interested in seeing where you end up falling in the draft. Hopefully the production keeps up as we get closer to the date now! Grammar 2/2 - Perfect minus some hyphens and when to use word/number form of numbers, but I only say that because I really need to put something here at least... Appearance 1/1 - Hooray, pictures! Final 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendrick 4,724 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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