Danila Klimovich – Selected Round 2, #41 overall by Vancouver
The New Jersey Devils struck gold in the later rounds with a player named Yegor Sharangovich from Belarus. Coincidentally enough, Belarus has had a great draft-eligible year for this NHL Entry Draft. There is right-handed shot center in Danila Klimovich who has developed into a goal-scorer the past three seasons. In his latest hockey season, he scored 52 points and 28 goals in 37 games played. He was part of a league called Belarus Vysshaya for Minskie Zubry.
He makes his living from the point and around the goalie crease. Klimovich is a lethal sniper who knows how to find the open space and has a nose for the net. His wrist and slap shots sling very quickly and find some ways to expose goalies with the least amount of space available.
Vincent Iorio – Selected Round 2, #55 overall by Washington
Vincent Iorio has blossomed offensively in his second and third seasons in the Western Hockey League for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He’s become more of an offensive defenseman who is learning to become more responsible in his own defensive end. His tall frame and offensive mindset resembles Rasmus Ristolainen in that matter, but has plenty of time to form his own game. The big league level defensive strategies should make him a very solid defender. His style of play is very enjoyable and he has a lot of room to grow. Time is certainly his best friend.
Matthew Knies – Selected Round 2, #57 overall by Toronto
Matthew Knies is a Phoenix, Arizona-born center/left-wing who shoots left and is a dual citizen of the USA and Slovakia. He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs 57th overall. One of the things you’ll notice is his tall frame and his ability to be a power forward with a penalty-killing prowess. He is a very strong even strength skater as well as a player that competes well short-handed. He is very similar to former New Jersey Devils’ forward Blake Coleman.
Knies has a really good sense of puck protection, and the hockey sense to move the play at his own pace. Over the past two seasons in the USHL he has tallied 87 points in 90 games. Of those points, 56 were assists which shows he’s a very creative player.
He also has played for the USA Under 19 WJAC League. Next up, Matthew Knies is committed to play at the University of Minnesota for the Golden Gophers. He will definitely become a more polished player there. Most likely developing into a more well-experienced, two-way power forward who can add an offensive punch to a Maple Leafs’ lineup down the road.
Alexei Kolosov – Selected Round 3, #78 overall by Philadelphia
As mentioned above, there is a big Belarusian theme in this years draft. The pre-draft European number two ranked goalie is Belarus’ very own Alexei Kolosov. Alexei played very well in the Belarusian League and in the KHL. He posted a 2.69 goals against average in his first season with Dinamo Minsk in the KHL and a .911 save percentage. Kolosov excels at cutting down the angles on shooters making it harder for them to generate higher-quality opportunities. He brings a level of urgency and competitive style of goaltending.
The New Jersey Devils rival, Philadelphia Flyers got a very nice prospect in Kolosov. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops given the new struggles of current net minder Carter Hart.
Roman Schmidt – Selected Round 3, #96 overall by Tampa Bay
One of the first traits you begin to recognize in roman Schmidts’ game is his size. He has a very similar build to Erik Cernak of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Roman scored 14 points in 45 game for the USDP. Roman Schmidt is a very reliable defenseman defensively on both the penalty kill and at even strength. He stays calm in his own end and is able to distribute the puck very well to his teammates.
Aku Koskenvuo – Selected Round 5, #137 overall by Vancouver
Aku Koskenvuo is the fourth-highest ranked goaltender out of Europe per NHL Central Scouting. Koskenvuo, leading up to 2020-2021, had two really good seasons at the under-18 level in Finland posting a .914 save percentage in 33 games played. In Aku’s under-20 season he posted a bitter .893 save percentage and a 2.92 goals against average which may be a result of his team’s defensive woes.
What Aku does well is that he remains calm under pressure during high-speed attacks. He uses his butterfly stance to get into position to block shots by using the power in his lower body. He will learn at the next level to improve more on North American ice, and playing in a more defensive system that the NCAA Division-1 level offers.
Despite the down year Aku had in Finland, he will look to refine his game at Harvard University. Aku will be joining Harvard University in 2022-2023 as one of their goalies.