Ht/Wt: 5' 11"/200 lbs
Position: LW
Team: Sibir (KHL)

Vladimir Taraskenko's Player Profile

One player who could very well be on par with Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin is Russian winger Vladimir Tarasenko who has quietly built his acumen with a stellar season in the KHL this past year. In a draft crop laced with some of the most promising Russian prospects in recent memory, Tarasenko headlines the crop of talented young players and could prove to be one of the top players in the draft.

Tarasenko has decent size, but is one of the most potent offensive players in the draft. He’s a good skater, with excellent acceleration and has the ability to reach top flight extremely quickly. His hands are excellent, making him very good in one on one situations, and his shot power and accuracy are comparable to the best players in the draft. Adding to the positives, he also competes hard, especially for a Russian, and is willing to battle for the puck to win battles.

This combination of skills allowed Tarasenko to be a very effective forward in the KHL this year despite only being 17 years old for the first portion of the season. He saw a lot of quality time playing for Sibir, and managed to improve considerably on his numbers from a year ago. Tarasenko increased his goal totals from 7 to 13, his assists from 3 to 11, and his points from 10 to 24. Having the opportunity to log significant minutes in the second best league in the world was a huge asset for his development as the opportunity to play against other professionals every game allowed him to gain experience of playing the game in a similar environment to the NHL.

While the KHL is definitely a platform to gain some strong experience for a young player, it also inevitably works against them as well as it increases concerns about a player’s signability. This will no doubt be the case with Tarasenko, who could have potentially contended for a Top 5 pick, but might be resigned to sliding into the late portion of the Top 10, or even into the teens. Tarasenko will play in the KHL next year, barring an unforeseen circumstance, but there is documentation that he does intend to cross the pond at some point in the future to bring his game to the NHL when the time comes. Even still, you can bet that teams will be concerned about the risk associated with him, and it will certainly deter most of the lottery teams from making a play for him.

His story will be one of the interesting ones to follow on draft day, as he could slide like the late Alexander Cherepanov, or be a Top 10 pick as his talent would indicate. While Tarasenko does still have some work to do on his complete game, he’s shown a lot of maturation and his offensive skills and impressive play on the international stage cannot be overlooked. As I mentioned before, it wouldn’t be a surprise to say the least to see him as one of the premier players from this crop when things are all said and done.
Pros: Shooting, Acceleration, Deking
Cons: Complete Game, The Russian Factor
Skillset comparison: Alexander Radulov
Submitted by: Scott Campbell of TheScoutingReport.org

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Vladimir Tarasenko Video Clips

Vladimir Tarasenko goal at 2010 World Juniors


Tarasenko KHL goal





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