Vitali Kravstov landed just outside of McKeen's first round in our recent rankings. A great skater with skill, Viktor Fomich provides a detailed look at his game.
A note on the 20-80 scale used below. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.
| Vitaly Kravtsov | 2018 Draft Eligible |
|---|---|
| Position: RW, Shoots L | H/W: 6-2", 170 lbs |
| Stats to date (GP-G-A-PTS-PIMS) | Traktor Chelyabinsk, KHL (35-4-3-7-6) |
| Chelmet Chelyabinsk, VHL (9-4-3-7-4) | |
| Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk, MHL (1-1-2-3-0) |
Skating: Kravtsov has a smooth and effortless stride. He is quick at maneuvering and changing direction and overall it is really hard to complain about his skating technique. His top speed is very good for his size, too. Explosiveness and overall lack of lower body power is a bit of an issue here though, but it is quite a common trait for Russian players of his age and is usually fixed around the age of 20. Grade: 60
Shot: Kravtsov's shot is well placed and the release is really quick and already at this point it is quite a headache for KHL goalies. It is mostly dangerous in the mid-range and closer though, as the overall strength is not there at least yet, something that is also notable with the slapper. His backhand finishing could also be more dangerous considering his skill level. Grade: 55
Skills: Very soft hands here, stickhandling looks extremely natural and smooth even when he is performing some complicated dekes. The puck just is not willing to leave his stick without his permission when he is making a sudden pace or direction changing move. Is able to deliver passes right where and when those should be delivered even in situations where he does not have a lot of time and space. All of the above applies both to the puck being on his forehand or backhand - it does not really matter for him here. Grade: 60
Smarts: Kravtsov is very flashy and creative in the attacking zone and is always looking to set up his linemates for a goal with some quick passing, and also has a good nose for the net. There are still notable concerns in this department, as he still needs to learn to play better without the puck and in the defensive zone. Also in his game there are still too many bad penalties, giveaways and overall a bit of immature game, yet it should be noted that he is making progress here. Grade: 55
Physicality: Kravtsov is lacking strength at the moment both in his lower and upper body and his overall body usage is subpar, but being 6-2" he can grow enough muscles in the coming years to be at least average at this department. Grade: 50
Summary: in Russia, the Chelyabinsk hockey school is considered almost as a trademark, as their alumni often are great skaters with some high-end skill (see examples of Kuznetsov, Dadonov and former players like Makarov and Gonchar). Valeri Kravtsov has the ceiling to become the next one on that list of examples and his recent KHL play-off point record is just proving that. With that being said, he still has a long way to go to reach this ceiling, as he definitely needs to add a good amount of strength and maturity to his game.
Overall Future Projection (OFP): 57