Orlov, 19, collected two assists in his first two games with the Hershey Bears (AHL) this season after signing an amateur tryout contract with Hershey on February 20. Prior to his stint in Hershey, Orlov appeared in 45 games with the Novokuznetsk Metallurg (KHL) this season, registering 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) and 43 penalty minutes.

Orlov, a 5’11, 202-pound defenseman, was Washington’s second-round selection, 55th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He helped lead Team Russia to a gold medal at the 2011 World Junior Championships in Buffalo, recording nine points (one goal, eight assists) in seven games and was named to the tournament All-Star team.

With Kugryshev’s help, we asked Orlov about the adjustment he’s confronting coming over to North America well into the hockey season. And he answered us directly about his thoughts on how the AHL stacks up against the KHL. Kugryshev played his junior hockey in Quebec, and so his transition to North America was perhaps a bit less formidable. The two young Russians are living together in Hershey, which helps, and are voracious consumers of the NHL Network. And we also asked Kugryshev to own up to a moment of conspicuous bravado on Facebook in the immediate aftermath of the Russian World Junior team’s gold medal triumph over Canada back in January.

Dynamic skill level. Exceptional hands. Controls the puck as if he’s got it on a string. Natural sniper. Elite one-on-one talent. Can manufacture his own offense. Great acceleration and finishing ability. Looks to score each shift

Sound like anybody you know?

Meet Evgeny Kuznetsov, your newest highly skilled Russian Washington Capital, secured with the 26th pick at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Across the vast array of entry draft prospect profiles Kuznetsov’s game uniformly screams out Alexander Semin II . . . until you consider these traits: leadership, and sandpaper and grit.

The Capitals on Friday night got the player they wanted from the first round all right. In fact, they seem to have secured so special a talent with so special a drive to make it big in the NHL that the Capitals could be forgiven this morning for celebrating well into Friday night, long enough to miss the second round, were they scheduled to pick then. General Manager George McPhee made it clear to the media that Kuznetsov was player no. 12 on the team’s draft board, and that he’d made an attempt to trade up to land him — as many as 10 spots — as they saw him slip. If a year ago most who follow the Capitals and the draft were left with a good deal of curiosity and uncertainty associated with the team’s selection of Marcus Johansson, this year there’s no doubt about what this Russian center prospect brings, a universal sense that the Caps may well have made out like bandits on Friday night.

McKeens had Kuznetsov ranked 11th. Red Line, 17th. The Hockey News no. 18. ISS, 19. None of these rankings were a reflection of Kuznetsov’s talent and ability and overall allure — all agreed he was a top 10/12 talent. What precipitated his later first round ranking — and more importantly the reason other NHL teams took a pass on him — was his KHL contract, which endures two more seasons with Traktor Chelyabinsk. For the second year in a row the Caps landed a high-end Russian (Dmitri Orlov last June) simply because the absence of a transfer agreement between the NHL and Russia has approximately 29 NHL clubs skittish about selecting Russians.

The Caps are fine with Kuznetsov’s KHL standing; all you needed to know about this draft moment could be summarized with George McPhee’s turn to the TV camera and quick wink into it right as his left the team’s strategy table to head up to the stage to announce the pick. A bandit’s wink.

McPhee told the Washington Post’s Tarik El Bashir last night that having Alexander Ovechkin on the Caps “is like having a guarantee that Russian draft picks will eventually want to make their way to Washington.”

“We can do some things that other teams are afraid to do,” the GM admitted.

From Russia (again) with outrageous skill

This ace card at the draft poker table is a huge asset for a team that should be drafting late each round for some years to come. No other NHL team has it. So this morning, celebrate the Caps’ ace card and most especially the volume of hosannas so widely sung about an 18-year-old that has scouts thinking Pavel Datsyuk-type pivot in raw ability:

“Very dynamic skill level. Extremely quick, soft hands. Controls the puck like he’s got it on a string and holds onto it for an extra split second, giving linemates time to cut to open ice for his decisive feeds. Superb patience around the net — outwaits goalies and always forces them to make the first move. Tremendous natural sniper who buries his chances . . .”

This from Russian Prospect.com:

“Evgeny Kuznetsov is an entertaining player to watch as he is a gifted, creative offensive player with tons of skills in one-on-one situations in the offensive zone. He is very creative with the puck and is able not only to dance around defensemen, but also to find the open player with a good pass. He is also a very good skater with great acceleration and a very good top speed. He has top notch finishing abilities thanks to his great shot, but also because is very good in waiting for the goalie to make his move and using his soft hands at his advantage. As showed at the U18s he can be a good captain, but he needs to get rid of some undisciplined play that made him amassing too many unnecessary PIMs in certain tournaments. Just like all classical Russian players he needs to work on his defensive play and has to bulk up a bit as at 6’0”, 175 lbs his size isn’t impressive . . . Given his tremendous skills and excellent skating Kuznetsov has a big potential and can develop into a star.”

McKeens had this to say about the Caps’ pick:

“Evgeny Kuznetsov put a stamp on his season with his most recent performance at the U18, where he finished second in tournament scoring. Although Russia failed to medal, he was arguable their best player. Kuznetsov cracked the KHL at the tender age of 17 and even though he did not get much ice time this year, he absolutely dominated when playing against players his own age. He has puck skills and is a natural finisher who looks to score each and every shift. At times he can hold onto the puck and needs to distribute it faster and then get into position to utilize his shot. He uses a short stick so he can get his shots off faster. Kuznetsov is a healthy skater who possesses a nice, efficient stride and is well balanced who keeps his weight shifted proportionately over his skates. He is ornery and does not hesitate to stick the opposition as he plays with sandpaper and grit. At times he played undisciplined and will need to curb his aggression as it resulted in many untimely penalties.”

This Hockeys Future thread on Kuznetsov is also worth perusing.

And how about some more fun. One kneejerk reaction to the selection of Kuznetsov is to deem him a replacement for the infuriating and impetuous Alexander Semin. But the two players share a development heritage (at Traktor), and know one another. What if this pick is uniquely inspiring to the Caps’ 40-goal enigma? What if . . . in say two years’ time . . .  there is a second line in Washington that looks a little something like this:

Semin – Kuznetsov – Kugryshev

Let’s sip our joe this morning and wink at the notion.

Kugryshev is in his second season skating in North America, for Patrick Roy and the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. In 64 games this season Kugryshev, who also skated for Russia at the World Juniors, has 83 points (28 goals, 55 assists). He ranks first on Quebec in points and seventh overall in scoring in the Q. Expect the promising winger to complete his Juniors season and then join the Hershey Bears.

Speaking of the Bears, head coach Mark French today shared with the Patriot News‘ Tim Leone some high flattery for John Carlson and his efforts thus far in a Caps’ sweater. French took note of Carlson’s lining up on the Capitals’ blueline late in the third period of a 3-3 game with Dallas last night and then again at the start of 4-on-4 overtime.

“A 3-3 game, he’s on the ice in the dying minutes of a tie game. Then 4-on-4 [in overtime] he’s a big part of what they do that way. So, yeah, I think he’s a good player. We’d love to have him back here, but I think he’s shown, from my humble opinion, that he can help at that level,” the Bears coach said.

Monday night’s game on Versus, incidentally, delivered the best-ever ratings for a regular season hockey game in D.C. for the network.

Tuesday also brought word, indirectly, of a likely tightening of the selection of sites for next year’s Winter Classic. New Yankee Stadium is out. Nats’ Stadium is certainly more likely than ever.

Marcus Johansson

Marcus Johansson, the Capitals’ pick at no. 24 of the first round at this past June’s Entry Draft, will captain the Swedes at the World Junior Championships at month’s end, general manager George McPhee told me at Thursday night’s Caps-Panthers’ game. Moreover, his performance with Farjestads in the Swedish Elite League (7 goals, 6 assists in his first 23 games) has been so conspicuously strong that the GM anticipates Johansson attending Capitals’ training camp next fall and being a strong candidate for a roster spot.

Johansson is just one of what looks to be a envy-inducing collection of perhaps a half dozen Capitals’ prospects likely to skate at this year’s WJC, which begins December 26 in Saskatoon and Regina.

A hopefully blushing-from-shame USA Hockey has invited John Carlson onto its pre-tournament roster after snubbing the standout defender a year ago. The right-shooting Carlson could well be a first-unit pairing on the American blueline with 17-year-old, left-shooting Cam Fowler, who’s shredding the Ontario Hockey League with Windsor this fall (3 goals, 36 assists in 30 games). Fowler is certain to be selected in the top 5 of the 2010 draft and be the first rearguard selected.

Left wing Stefan Della Rovere, captain of the OHL’s Barrie Colts and a Capitals’ 7th round selection in the 2008 draft, skated on last year’s gold medal winning Canadian World Junior team; you’d think he’d be a strong candidate to return. Della Rovere has 25 points in 26 games this season in Barrie, and a healthy 56 PIMs while skating a +12. The Colts have won 16 games in a row in the ‘O.’ Joining Delle Rovere at the Canadian pre-tournament camp will be Cody Eakin of the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. Eakin, a center drafted by the Caps in the third round this past June, is 5th in the ‘W’ in scoring this season with 26 goals and 17 assists in 31 games.  Given Mathieu Perreault’s early season showing, how strong and deep do the Caps suddenly appear down the middle?

Last but certainly not least are two locks for the Russian World Junior roster, a pair of second-round picks from the past two entry drafts and returnees from the 2009 WJC, left wing Dmitry Kugryshev and defenseman Dmitri Orlov. Kugryshev’s having another strong season under Patrick Roy with the Quebec Remparts, and Orlov, who greatly impressed at the Capitals’ Development Camp in July, is skating in his second season in the KHL, Russia’s top professional league, with Mettalurg.

This collection of young, promising talent, again clogging the ranks at hockey’s most prestigious international annual tournament, is another feather in the cap for the Capitals’ scouting regime, and most importantly, it illustrates the Caps’ success at finding notable talent in the draft where a lot of other NHL clubs don’t. If you’re an NHL club and you have three or four of your kids skating at the WJC, that suggests a pretty healthy pipeline of talent looming, but when you’re a 100-pt. NHL club and you’re sending five or six guys to the World Juniors, multiple captains among them, well, wow.

5. Dmitri Kugryshev, RW – Quebec Remparts (QMJHL): The
Q’s official rookie scoring race ended with three Russians followed by
two Czechs. On top of the pile was Kugryshev, who proved his totals
with Red Army last season weren’t just a result of playing with Nikita
Filatov. The Caps pick ended up with 74 points in 57 games. Drafted 58th overall by Washington in 2008.

Congratulations, Dmitry!

“I have seen that some Capitals fans – you know who you are – have
suggested that I should stay in the gym instead of writing a blog. Are
you right? May be. But we all have a right to have our own opinions.
So, let me explain. I have been in the gym every single time when I am
not playing. I am not the “bang ‘em, kill ‘em” type of forward. I think
I am a scorer. I have said in the past that I do need better
conditioning, but I still have a right to talk. Or write. (yes, I am
talking to you, BrooklynCapsFan)…“

He also made us laugh with a comment directed at OFB. You may recall our all English interview with Dmitry and more recently our mention of his new media debut. Here’s his quick note to us:

“(Thanks to onfrozenblog.com for mentioning me – I owe you one! Next interview – we are doing in Russian!)“