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[Tyler 885]

With six points in his first seven games, Sergei Aleksei has shown himself to be a dark horse in the upcoming draft. Although he came over the VHLM late and only declared for the draft late as well, the Belorussian winger has been everything advertised thus far. His shining moment thus far came with a hattrick in a losing cause against the second best team in the league Saksatoon. Being on a basement dweller, there is little to play for now other then pride and draft position, and yet Aleksei is keeping focused. "It took a while to get adapted to the speed of the VHLM," he said following his hatrick against the Wild, "but I think now I am getting the hang of how we play here."

 

His output so far is especially impressive when you consider he is only three months shy of an injury that knocked him out of the Russian Junior League (MHL) playoffs in the first round. His rehab took less time then expected and he says he has been feeling about 100 percent for the last few weeks leading up to the move to Bratislava. He spent the rehab in Minsk working with his teams doctors as well as a private trainer his father hired and he attributes that to his quick turnaround.

 

The 18 year old right winger isn't sure if his draft stock has rose at all over his first few games in the VHLM, but he does say he thinks he will not disappoint whichever team does draft him. He was not ranked in the most recent draft rankings due to being a late recruit, but a few scouts have been spotted at Bratislava games to watch him play. The main critique to his game so far appears to be his inability to master the physical side of the faster VHLM game as he has, at times, looked timid going up against larger players something his coach says will come with time. "He has all the tools he just needs to get more confidence," said his head coach following the teams 4-3 loss to the Wild, "I don't doubt he has the tools to be one of the best players in the draft."

 

 

Showing just how poor the offensive output has been for the Watchmen this year,  Aleksei already ranks third on his team in total points and looks set to be the teams top point scorer within his first 10 games. He is the go to guy on the teams power play, 5 on 5 and even kills penalties despite one of his flaws being his defensive awareness. He doesn't seem out of touch in any situation for the struggling Watchmen, but scouts still question his defensive ability as well as his ability to ever be a true game changing forward. They see his potential upside as being a realistic secondary player but never being a teams go to guy, something the European forward doubts. His confidence is obvious from the first moment you meet him, but it is even more profound when you speak to him about hockey. He is confident he can be better then any other player in his draft class, it's up to him now to prove it.

[Frank 5,209]

[Kendrick 4,741]

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