Vladimir Pavlov Rookie Profile [1/2]

[Victor 10,940]

(S67) D - Vladimir Pavlov

Hometown: Moscow, Russia

VHL Team: Moscow Menace

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 220 lbs.

 

Vladimir Pavlov is one of three rookie defencemen on the S67 Moscow Menace roster, joining the franchise in its third season of existence, just as the VHL's first ever Russian team has joined the hunt for the playoffs. On a team performance level, it has been a great success for the local Muscovite, who has been burdened with fans' expectations ever since it was announced that the Menace would be represented by a kid from Moscow. Individually, there is still much room for improvement.

 

Scouted as a center in the mould of his agency's predecessors like the Hall of Famer Alexander Chershenko and the currently active Podrick Cast, Pavlov has had a difficult transition to defence just as he started finding his feet in the VHLM as a forward. By the end of S66, Pavlov was showing hallmarks of some of those highly acclaimed names in the past, with MVP-worthy performances for Team Asia at the World Juniors and the Saskatoon Wild in the playoffs (10 goals and 18 points in 10 games), although both runs ended too short for the young center to be in serious consideration fo individual awards. It hadn't all been smooth sailing to that point, with S65 being effectively a waste of time for Pavlov as his agent chased a maiden Founder's Cup and while that was secured, Pavlov's stat line for the VHLM regular season and post season was identical – 11 games played and 0s across all the other categories as he saw no ice time for the Minnesota Storm.

 

It was after a midseason trade from Minnesota to Saskatoon that Pavlov started to come into his own, but has now had to start from scratch again in a new position and in a league with Moscow. Here's a look at how that adaptatation's gone so far:

 

Strengths

Shooting ability – As a natural scorer, Pavlov has transferred his attacking nous to his new position with a shoot-first mentality resulting in a very respectable 6 goals and 28 points through 56 games in S67. Three of those goals have come on the powerplay where Pavlov has been a useful and understated weapon on the Menace's second unit.

 

On-ice awareness – Like many forwards who shift to defence early on, Pavlov sees the game a bit differently to more experienced defencemen, with a clear eye for a good pass. This is definitely a skill which will become most useful in future seasons as the young defenceman really finds his bearings on the ice, and currently most his assists still come from rebounds rather than timely passes, but the potential is clearly there.

 

Versatility – It almost goes without saying, but having already played as a forward and a defenceman in a short period of time, coaches will be able to use Pavlov in any position in the team in the future. Although defence is the position set in stone for Pavlov by Moscow's management, perhaps he will see some time as a forward on the powerplay or when the team is down by a goal late in the game.

 

Weaknesses

Defence – This comes as no surprise, but 56 games into life as a defenceman, Pavlov still has the mindset of a forward and will think about scoring before preventing goals. It's a mindset which fits the Menace, high both in the goals for and goals against columns but will need to improve as it's not a sustainable style of play for a serious Continental Cup contender.

 

Taking one for the team – In a similar vein, Pavlov is so far not the most keen to lay his body on the line, with a meagre 40 blocked shots so far this season. This is a combination of both Pavlov's past as an offensive forward but also perhaps an element of prejudice from his status as a local fan favourite in Moscow. He has added a bit more to his physical game with 75 hits so far in S67 already ahead of his S66 full-season total, although that has led to the final main weakness...

 

Discipline – Although an increased willingness to hit the opponent is a welcome change to Pavlov's game and transition to defence, it has come at a cost as on occasion the rookie gets overexuberant and has spent 74 minutes in the box so far this season, far ahead of his VHLM numbers. With experience and continued coaching, this is presumably an issue which will be resolved over time.

[HenrikZoiderberg 469]

Review:

 

Couple of small things - this one needs a conclusion. Although the summary is solid. 

 

I like your strengths and weaknesses, especially going outside the box with things like 

On 8/9/2019 at 5:02 PM, Victor said:

Taking one for the team –

 

Formatting could use some work. You can double click your picture to resize while keeping aspect ratio. I'd suggest a 450 pixel width max and center the picture for ease of reading.

 

Looks pretty good otherwise.