Igor Chernyshov has gotten lost in the shuffle, it seems. Maybe it’s other Russian prospects like Ivan Demidov, Anton Silayev, and the like, hogging all the spotlight from overseas — because one of the most electrifying forwards we have seen in a while and a 6-foot-7 defenseman that can skate like the wind, can do that — or it’s just pure happenstance, but we haven’t really heard enough about this player.
He is comfortably in the middle of the first round and has been for some time now throughout the 2024 rankings season, and has just flown mostly under the radar as an option for a team to be excited about drafting him. Maybe it’s the fact that the North American bias is shielding our eyes from him and waving players like Liam Greentree and Cole Eiserman in our face instead of Chernyshov.
But on paper, Chernyshov feels like the type of player that teams would be salivating over. If you just approach any Hockey Man and said that there is this 18-year-old winger who is 6-foot-2, built solid, who works very hard for his scoring chances at an individual level, and is good in just about every aspect of the game, they would probably think he was one of the best players available and would happily take him. Now with a little bit of a shroud of Russian mystery, Chernyshov has been most likely slotted a little bit later than he would be if he was Joey McDonald from Barrie, Ontario.
Regardless, Chernyshov feels like an exciting talent that could really stick in the NHL if given the opportunity. He seems like one of those wingers that would develop into one of those players that are always labelled as underrated. The Pavel Buchnevich of Teuvo Teravainen types. Let’s see why.
Pre-Draft Rankings
No. 17 by Elite Prospects
No. 17 by FC Hockey
No. 18 by Daily Faceoff
No. 18 by Bob McKenzie (TSN)
No. 23 by Scott Wheeler (The Athletic)
Statistics
What’s there to like?
As with almost every single Russian prospect that isn’t an immediate star, do not look at Chernyshov’s point totals to really judge the player. For almost the entire KHL season, through the 34 games he did play, Chernyshov was stuck in Dynamo Moscow’s bottom-six forward group and was not given any true opportunity to offensively shine like he was in the junior league.
In the MHL this season (the Russian junior league), Chernyshov’s 1.27 points-per-game average ended up being the seventh-best mark in league history among draft-eligible skaters with at least 20 games played. And to make it hit home even harder, just two of his 28 points came on the power play — he was just an absolute machine among his peers.
But overall, the most attractive thing about a player like Chernyshov is just being good at almost everything while not being truly elite in one category. There are prospects all around this draft who excel at one thing the most — Cole Eiserman and his shooting, Beckett Sennecke and his puckhandling — but Chernyshov is just solid as a rock in most areas of the sport.
His ability to transition the puck through all three zones and work tirelessly with or without possession is something that scouts should be drooling over. He feels like the modern-day workhorse winger that most championship teams rely heavily on to provide that stable base so their true stars can shine the brightest. It might not be exciting to think of taking a player that might not be the best player in a good team’s top-six forward group, but Chernyshov is worth it.
This guy just feels like a physical player that can stick in the professional game, but with the soft touch to actually make his minutes worthwhile and produce some damn points.
What’s not to like?
Perhaps the biggest thing to not like about Chernyshov is just if there is enough ceiling. Like some other European wingers, such as Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, who are projected to go in this range, Chernyshov has an incredibly high floor. He should make it at the professional level and should have a spot on an NHL team for the pure fact alone that he has the work ethic that he does to match the ability.
But, is there enough of a reason to spend a first-round draft pick on a player who could end up being a guy who is always available in free agency? What if he’s just Russian Garnet Hathaway? Respectable and a hell of a hockey player, but not the swing you hope for. Scott Laughton was a first-round pick.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
Chernyshov would be welcome in Philadelphia, no doubt. We love our hard-working hockey players and he does at least have enough of a ceiling that could be enticing. He is a left winger that shoots right (so maybe he is ultimately a right winger in North America) and that isn’t something the Flyers need positionally, but a hockey team can always use a player of his talents.
He is built in the north-south winger mold and that just suits this team perfectly, but he wouldn’t be the top-end talent that general manager Danny Briere keeps on talking about.
Can the Flyers actually get him?
Certainly, and they may have two opportunities to do so. We’ve already mentioned how there hasn’t really been a lot of hype around him, and knowing that sometimes teams fall in love with late first-round talents and end up taking them earlier than projected — there is always some CHL forward taken way earlier than anyone thought was possible — the Flyers could really have the option to take Chernyshov with the Florida Panthers’ pick at 31st or 32nd overall. He just feels like a player that will slip as teams prefer the centers or defensemen available, and then suddenly, the Flyers walk away pretty happy.
At 12th overall, Chernyshov would be a big reach, but later, it could be a steal.
What scouts are saying
To me, he projects as a talented and creative complimentary offensive piece of the puzzle. Rarely taking low percentage shots, doing a solid job of generating shot assists, and having great transition involvement and solid efficiency rates, he’s a strong profile for a KHL player. His defensive play is more positional and timing-focused rather than intensity-based, but he does fine in that area, breaking cycles an generating offensive zone turnovers at a good rate. I do worry about what role Chernyshov plays in the NHL exactly where he finds huge success, as he lacks a certain level of quickness thanks to a bit of an inefficient skating stride, but he’s a good puck protector at this level and is rarely giving up on his possessions. He’s a bit of an offensive blank slate with a diverse set of “good but not great” tools, but there is definitely a lot to work with. A few years in Russia could do Chernyshov well so long as he keeps himself in the KHL and an offensive zone focused dual-threat scorer is not out of the equation down the road.
Will Scouch, scouching.ca
Chernyshov doesn’t have a single elite skill or element in his game. Instead, he’s one of the more well-rounded players in the draft who can impact the game in a variety of ways and provide value in all three zones. The 6-foot-2 winger is one of the best players in the draft at creating chances for himself, particularly off the rush. A powerful skater and a high-end handler, Chernyshov excels at anticipating openings and exploiting them. He beats defenders consistently by properly setting up his dekes, building up speed below the puck and then attacking with a speed advantage and working give-and-goes. While he’s often direct, he also has a rather advanced delay game that he can pull out when the situation calls for it. Chernyshov’s overall playmaking drew more mixed reviews from our scouting staff. He missed opportunities to utilize his teammates, but also showcased above-average vision from time to time, having the awareness to turn broken plays into quick feeds to the slot and even flashed some manipulative ability.
Elite Prospects Draft Guide
Chernyshov has been a steady riser throughout the season. He is now our top ranked Russian outside of Ivan Demidov, although that says just as much about Anton Silayev as it does Chernyshov. The Russian winger is the prototype of what NHL general managers look for. He has the soft skills one might expect from a smaller player on a mature, 6’2” frame. His toolkit is highlighted first by his shot, which is good enough to beat KHL goaltenders on clean looks, and his stickhandling, which is best put to use when he’s changing the angle on defenders. He did not have the luxury of playing in a junior league in his first-time draft eligible season. Rather, he was forced to develop his game against grown men in a declining, but still competitive KHL. Even when he wasn’t scoring he was making physical plays along the boards, going to the right areas of the ice, and generating looks at a decent rate. His defensive and transition games become key strengths in his on-ice impact this season against strong competition, and have established a high floor to go along with the ceiling his high-end puck skills provide. He projects as a potential top-six two-way winger, but if his playmaking game doesn’t make the jump it needs to in order to unlike that potential, his middle-six fallback game is a strong one.
Graham Montgomery, DobberProspects
Welcome to the poll…
Next up on our list is an exciting talent coming from over there in Alberta. It’s the electrifying Andrew Basha of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers.
In terms of raw, pure pace, skill, and quickness, Basha might be right up at the top of the class. The issues lie with the issues commonplace with undersized forwards. When he has space to play with or a lane to exploit, he’s magic. Some of the most impressive single sequences I have seen from any player this year have come from Basha. The rest of the time though, it’s easy to miss Basha for stretches. He isn’t much of a physical factor with or without the puck, and his offensive creation metrics trail many players in my first round in aggregate. That said, Basha is an electric player. He’s quick to accelerate, quick with his hands, and uses quick thinking to jump the puck into open space and pierce through defenses. When it works, it’s awesome, but Basha will need time to gain some physical resilience on the puck under heavy pressure and find ways to strip puck and get off the boards a bit better. There’s a ton of upside for a flashy creative complementary playmaker in a top six, but there likely isn’t a bottom six NHL player you fall back on if things don’t break right.
Will Scouch, scouching.ca
And since Igor Chernyshov was a tie for No. 17 on our list, we have to add one more to the poll. It’s the Chicago Steel centerman Michael Hage!
Hage is another riser on many boards, as he has found more and more consistency in leveraging his elite tools to create sustained offense at the USHL level as the season has progressed. His powerful and agile skating paired with high-end handling skill and on-puk composure make allow him to dominate junior competition in transition. Offensively, too, he can turn nothing into something in the blink of an eye; unpredictable and adaptable on-puck, and riding defenders’ blind spots adeptly to get himself to high-danger positions in and around the slot.
Sebastian High, DobberProspects
