Each day over the next month leading up to the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, held on June 22 in Dallas, we will be taking a look at the top 31 prospects available, starting with the 31st and leading up to number one.
Next in the series of prospect profiles is our 15th-ranked prospect, left wing Grigori Denisenko.
Grigori Denisenko
2017–18 Team: Yaroslavl 2 (Russia)
Date of Birth: June 24, 2000
Place of Birth: Novosibirsk, Russia
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 176 lbs
Shoots: Right
Position: LW
NHL Central Scouting Final Ranking: 7 (European Skaters)
NHL Central Scouting Midterm Ranking: 4 (European Skaters)
NHL Comparable: Patrick Kane
With high-end offensive skills and the elusivity of former superstar Pavel Datsyuk, Grigori Denisenko is one of the most electrifying players in the draft. As a result, Denisenko is among the most exciting players to watch in the draft class.
The most noticeable aspect of Denisenko’s game is his elite skating ability. His top speed is phenomenal. He accelerates very well, reaching his top speed in just a few steps. Denisenko uses his edges and agility to weave in and out of defenders. His ability to elude the opposition’s pressure is remarkable. Even when it seems like he is lined up by a defender and about to be hit, Denisenko regularly uses his Houdini-esque disappearing ability to vanish from the contact, as can be seen in the highlight video below. Denisenko uses his top-notch skating to be among the most slippery players in the draft, which he is then able to turn into high-quality scoring chances for himself and his teammates. The one knock on his skating is that he needs to improve his strength to become more solid, as he can easily be pushed off the puck when he has nowhere to go or is flat-footed.
Denisenko is a wizard with the puck on his stick. He combines excellent hands with his amazing skating ability to generate offensive opportunities seemingly out of nowhere. Denisenko is at his best with the puck on his stick. He regularly puts the puck through and around defenders with ease. He has the patience to wait out the opposition and make plays. However, Denisenko can sometimes be considered a “puck hog” and sometimes gets himself into trouble by holding onto the puck too long, but this will likely decrease as he transitions into playing in the KHL next season.
Denisenko’s vision and patience allows him to determine the best offensive play available, whether that be in the form of waiting for a play to develop and feeding an open teammate or creating and opportunity for himself. Denisenko is a very good passer. He regularly puts the puck exactly where it needs to be for a teammate to make a play. Denisenko is also good at drawing attention to himself to open ice for his teammates.
Denisenko possesses a high-end shot as well. His wrist shot and snapshot are both very accurate and gets them off very quickly. Denisenko could certainly improve his shot if his is able to get stronger, as he has a relatively small frame. Added strength would also help improve his slap shot as well.
He very much plays a perimeter-style of hockey, which he excels at. But, this could also be reason for concern, as he may not be willing to get down and dirty to be effective in crunch time. He does not enjoy finding himself in front of the net for too long, rather being a player who will dart in and out of the middle when needed for a high-quality scoring chance. His style is very reminiscent of a young Patrick Kane before Kane was able to round out his offensive game more to become an all-around threat.
Defensively, Denisenko has a long way to go. He is almost purely an offensively minded player, meaning he can be a liability in his own end. He does not backcheck well, as he likes to stay behind the play in the event of a turnover. His lack of defensive ability can also lead to ill-advised penalties, which will definitely need to be cleaned up before becoming an NHL player.
Overall, Denisenko is an electrifying offensive player with loads of raw talent. He needs to work significantly on some important aspects of his game, but has the tools to be a star for a long time.
Implications for the Blackhawks
Despite being ranked as a mid-first round pick, Denisenko could easily find himself sliding to the end of the first round if teams are scared off by his one-sided game and lack of size and discipline. The “Russian factor” could also easily come into play if teams fear he will not come over to North America for a while. That said, it is probably likely he will be gone in the 15–25 range because of his offensive upside. However, if he is miraculously available when the Hawks are on the clock with the 27th pick, he could prove to be one of the steals of the draft. If Denisenko can translate his offensive ability to the NHL and round out his game, he could be the perfect replacement for the second line left wing role opposite Patrick Kane. A duo of Kane and Denisenko could wreak havoc on NHL defenses, similar to how Kane did with Artemi Panarin. However, head coach Joel Quenneville typically does not like purely offensive players, so that could steer the Blackhawks away from Denisenko if he is still available at 27. He would be a high-risk, high-reward pick, but were he to pan out, he would become the Hawks’ next game-changer.
Timeline
Denisenko will need a few years to round out his game and get stronger. He is expected to play in the KHL this season. If Denisenko is really wanting to play in the NHL and he drastically improves his strength and defensive ability, he could come over as soon as 2019–20 or 2020–21, but he could very easily take much longer to develop and not be NHL-ready until 2021–22 or later.
Projection
Denisenko has all of the tools needed to be an elite offensive player at the game’s highest level. If he is able to become better defensively and gain some strength, there is no reason Denisenko cannot become a top-six winger, potentially even a top-line winger. But, as stated earlier, his lack of defensive ability is a big concern, which could put a damper on his sky-high offensive potential.
What others are saying
“Denisenko has a lot of talent, and it means that naturally many NHL teams will be behind him. He’s definitely got top-10 talent, but the Russian Factor and his size will most likely push him down. A pick in the second round is not out of question, even if he will be probably one of the first 31 players called. Many NHL teams may also be concerned by his maturity. He likes to (over)play the puck and is prone to ‘bad discipline’ penalties. As he will keep on playing in the KHL, though, it is most likely that these kind of issues will be ironed out.”
— Alessandro Seren Rosso/The Hockey Writers
“Flashy winger with a ton of upside who can make a variety of moves to get within striking distance of the goal. Denisenko dealt with consistency issues throughout the season, but he’s an unstoppable force when engaged.”
— Steve Kournianos/Sporting News
“Denisenko is one of the most skilled players in his draft class. On a pure talent level, he’s one of, it not the top Russian in this draft class (and no I didn’t forget about Andrei Svechnikov). Denisenko manipulates the puck so well and does so at high speeds.”
— Corey Pronman/The Athletic