Basic Player Overview
2020/2021 Team: MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva (MHL)
Position: Right Wing
Height: 188 cm / 6’2″
Weight: 82 kg / 181 lbs
Handedness: Right
Nationality: Russia
Introduction
Matvei Petrov is one of the best Russian players available for the 2021 NHL Draft. He currently plays for MHK Krylia Sovetov Moskva in MHL. Even though he’s not close to being a point-per-game player, he leads the team’s scoring. He hasn’t played a single senior-hockey game in KHL or VHL, he’s not call up to the national team often as well. But when he is, he’s very productive there. He played nine games for the U17 Russian team and collected nine points for four goals and five assists. He was drafted first overall in the OHL Draft to the North Bay Battalion. It’s possible for him there as soon as the OHL starts, because his MHL team is one spot behind the playoffs line.
Vision
First of all, it’s necessary to say that Petrov is a goal-scorer. He loves to celebrate goals and with his lethal shot, more precisely with his ability to put pucks into the net, he does it very often. But his vision is also very promising and he has really underrated passing ability.
Look at the number 72. He enters the zone without the puck but he’s making a quick overview of what is happening in the zone. He sees an open teammate on the right side. I believe he realized all the opponents are looking at the puck and moving closer to him. And that’s why he knows, when the puck gets to Petrov’s stick, that he has a teammate all alone right in front of the goalie. Also, it’s great he wastes no time with putting the puck to him with the backhand pass.
He enjoys playing hockey and when he has teammates who are really into tic-tac-toe, he can join them easily. As proof, watch this play. It starts with a nice deke, then he lets the puck on the teammate’s stick and waits. He sees an open player sliding right in the middle so he makes one final pass to him next.
Off the puck
Final passes look pretty easy to make for him. And it simply is like that. Why? He doesn’t make any pointless movements. He would rather stay in a position where he finds himself dangerous off the puck. But. There’s a big but. I don’t know if he knows he’s not dangerous sometimes, but when he passes the puck, he stops and waits for the puck to come back to him or he slides further.
This is his biggest “weakness”. He needs to work on how to be dangerous all the time and especially without the puck on his stick. Don’t wait and find the space where he will be more dangerous for opponents when he gives the puck elsewhere.
Release + Bonus (The new Laine?)
If you want to find a player available for the 2021 NHL Draft who has pure goalscoring ability, I’d give you two names. The first one is going to be Cole Sillinger, the second one Matvei Petrov.
There are many aspects that make a player an elite sniper. Various goals are scored and Petrov scores plenty of them.
He can shoot the puck from distance. He has a hard slap shot, he can use it especially on the power-play where he moves around the known “Ovechkin’s” spot. This type of shot is also pretty accurate. He can choose if he aims down or up right below the crossbar.
And now we’re starting with exact examples. I’m not saying he’s going to be the same player as Laine or the same good as Laine, but there are some flashes in his game that are pretty similar to his.
Look at this play. Laine waits for the puck on the opposite side where the puck isn’t near but he stays all alone. Petrov? The same, only with a couple of steps to the boards. They put all of their best into their shots and both aim to the bottom right corner. The only big difference is the side where the camera is situated.
It’s not only about the shot but also about the footwork that precedes the release. Look how they both prepare their shots. Look at the edgework, how they’re moving. Petrov definitely studied Laine’s shot at least at some point.
And they both can score pretty quickly after the face-off.
Let’s get back on his own. He feels when to shoot and when is better to pass the puck. He rarely makes mistakes in this area. When he sees space that is dangerous to shoot from, he goes there. It’s exactly the case in this video. He receives the puck, sees a ton of space in the middle of the zone, doesn’t hesitate, and skates there. Also, the edgework here is very important. Thanks to that, he’s dangerous all the time, that’s why the defender goes down for blocking the shot. Petrov just waits a bit longer when the trajectory for his shot is absolutely clear.
But he can score even in a situation where he has no space and time. He calms the bouncing puck quickly and whenever it’s just slightly possible, he throws the puck to the net.
He’s definitely a shoot-first player, but it’s not like he’s selfish and doesn’t pass at all. Even in obvious scoring areas, he can find an open teammate in front of the empty net. It’s like here on the 2-on-1 counterattack.
Conclusion
Matvei Petrov is a very promising player who has evident gaps in his game but he has also a lethal weapon like his shot and ability to score goals. Because he’s playing only in the MHL, he seems to be a long-term project who is a few years away from NHL. It’s tough to project his career at this stage, but he has all the tools to make it into the NHL one day.
Rankings
#62 – Recruit Scouting (February)
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