According to the rankings, there's a good chance that Andrei Svechnikov ends up being the first forward selected at the 2018 NHL Draft next month in Dallas...and for good reason. Although his rookie season was interupted by a wrist injury that caused the right winger to miss 17 games, he was absolutely dominant during the games he did appear in and lead all first year OHL players in scoring (72 points in 44 GP).
"I fell on the ice and my wrist bent a different way, so I was out six weeks," Svechnikov recalled. "It wasn't painful and I wanted to go back on the ice, but when I tried to shoot, my hand hurt."
Svechnikov's elite skill set has many believing that he could be NHL-ready right out of the gate as he possess all the traits needed to excel at the highest level.
"I think if there's one CHL player right now who can step into an NHL lineup it would probably be Svechnikov," said Karl Stewart of NHL Central Scouting. "He's big and his shot is so powerful. He just drops the shoulder and turns it on; you can't stop him. His shot bides him so much time and space that defenders have to play up on him, but he has the skill to dance around you. He's a magician on the half-wall on the power play."
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