Photo Credit: Europa Stars Group
Yaroslav Samadov is coming off of his second full season with HC Slovan Bratislava U18. In 46 games with the club, he tallied 20 goals and 27 assists. He averaged 1.02 points per game and that is a solid increase in production when you look at his 2018-2019 statistics.
Samadov does not have any ties to clubs in the MHL, USHL, CHL, Jr. A SM-Liiga nor the SuperElit. But, Samadov and his agent should consider a move to Finland, Sweden, Canada, Russia or the United States. With his draft year coming up, the goal for Samadov should be to grow his reputation and players from Slovakia and the Czech Republic often find themselves relocating temporarily to help advance their hockey career. It does appear that Samadov attended a USHL Combine, so perhaps the Russian forward established some relationships with USHL scouts/front office personnel. If that is the case, we could potentially see Samadov packing his bags for the United States in the fall.
Player Profile
D.O.B – October 16, 2002
Nationality – Russia
Draft Eligibility – 2021
Height – 6’1
Weight – 179 lbs
Position – Center/Left Wing
Handedness – Right
Samadov’s Style Of Play
Samadov is a solid offensive contributor. The Moscow, Russia native has solid range on his shot. Often times, he will look to shoot in the middle of the slot and he will utilize his wrist shot quite a bit. While his shot seems to be strong, Samadov struggles with his passing ability. He can deliver a tape-to-tape pass without error, but if you need a centered pass or a cross ice pass, Samadov will struggle.
Not only will Samadov struggle to complete cross ice and centered passes in the offensive zone, but the 17 year old struggles with passing on the rush. His decision making needs some improvement. More than often, Samadov will throw the puck into dangerous areas and cause turnovers especially in the neutral zone. Instead, he needs to take his time with the puck and identify the optimal teammate to deliver the puck to.
When Samadov is on the power play, he tends to line up along the right half-wall. Depending on his right defenseman’s positioning, he will drop back to the blue line to provide some support from the point. But, when Samadov is along the half-wall, he tends to find more offensive success. He finds a decent amount of open space and creates plenty of opportunities for his teammates to deliver a cross ice pass to him without potentially causing a turnover.
If Samadov is in transition with the puck, he is efficient at navigating the puck up the ice, but there are puck control issues. Samadov has difficulty out-working his opponents. There are situations in which the pressure is tighter and it is inevitable that he will struggle to out-work his opponent, but then there are sequences when there is not a ton of pressure and Samadov looses sight of the puck. In addition, it is evident that Samadov is working on his stick-handling and while he likely will not be a flashy stick-handler, he is working on moving the puck from backhand to forehand. With the right coach at the next level, Samadov will be able to improve his puck control and stick-handling.
From an aggression point of view, he seems to be slightly inconsistent. When he is in the neutral zone, he will look to put pressure on his opponents along the boards and attempt bodychecks. Yet, in the offensive zone and defensive zone, Samadov does not apply much pressure and tends to be more laid back. In order for Samadov to garner a lot of attention from NHL scouts, I believe that he needs to work on his fore-checking and back-checking.
Samadov’s skating is a strong attribute for him. He has a wide stride and can pick up speed at a drop of a hat. He seems to have a heavy foot from time to time on his crossovers, but that is certainly addressable.
Comparable
Jiří Tlustý, Left Wing, Former NHLer, Played for Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets
stats from eliteprospects.com
Looking for other scouting reports? Check out the Prospects tab for our other scouting reports.