Vancouver Canucks Analysis: The Power of Nikita Tryamkin

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Tryamkin Analysis: Scouting Report

Here is the basic scouting report for the 21-year-old defender.

• Height: 6-foot-8
• Weight: 228 pounds
• Date of Birth: August 30th, 1994
• Handedness: Shoots left, has experience playing the right
• Drafting: 66th Overall in 2014 by Vancouver

The Physical

He is just 21, right? I think 21-year-old Russians can still grow an inch or two. Honestly just hoping he can fill out a bit and beat Zdeno Chara’s numbers (6-foot-9 and 250 pounds).

Being a left-handed shot does not help in the Canucks immediate lineup, though. One can only hope that his limited experience on the right side can allow him to play his weak side more consistently.

Deployment

“In North America they told me to be even angrier, to play very hard. I explained [to] them that I prefer playing more safely, rather than fly around and look stupid.” — Nikita Tryamkin to Just Media

Tryamkin has been used in virtually all situations. His main role is that of a defensive defenceman (as he so says), but he is usually on the powerplay, sometimes as the team’s net-front presence. As good as a 6-foot-8 frame is to screen a netminder, the power of his shot is quite formidable as well. The one assist he put up during the KHL playoffs this year, in fact, comes from playing the net-front on the PP.

His coach in the KHL has put him frequently on the wings for the sake of faceoffs. I guess the Canucks could also use that to help their league-worst faceoff record. Anything is better than what the Canucks have right now… Who wants to let Tryamkin take some draws?

Here is Tryamkin’s highlight reel from the 2014 World Juniors. Tryamkin is the giant in No. 8 for Team Russia. Remember, this is from two years ago.

Does he ever put up a battle in front of his own net! When’s the last time a battle like this (2:10 mark in the video) happened at the World Juniors level?

The Intangibles

Alessandro Seren Rosso of the Hockey Writers has translated this Russian interview with Tryamkin into English just after the 2014 draft, available right here.

Tryamkin first talks about the 2014 draft experience, having been passed over in the previous draft. His goal, again, was to make the NHL in two years, which will now come to fruition. But here is the most interesting scouting point of view on Tryamkin. These are Tryamkin’s words from the translated interview:

"In North America they told me to be even angrier, to play very hard. I explained them that I prefer playing more safely, rather than fly around and look stupid. If there is a good moment when I can meet an opponent playing hard, I’ll do it, but I do not want just to fly around and do a bad play. After all if you just want to impress and as a result have a bad play and hurt the team, it means more time on the bench, and less ice time. Of course there are always a lot of emotions, especially in the final minutes of close games, but you need to hold on."

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Very interesting. That is eerily Zdeno Chara-like. As much as Vancouver might hate Chara, the 6-foot-9 giant did not go out of his way to make the big hit.

The big frame is not all about the hitting. It also translates to the ability to make big strides coming out of the defensive end and being able to have a long reach on the puck and the attackers. The play along the boards, of course, is easier with a larger frame. Puck protection is easy with a large frame.

And the emotional part of the game is also something to note. With 71 penalty minutes in 53 games, Tryamkin is not a soft player by any means. Perhaps those minutes are a product of being asked to play grittier by the North American coaches?

That is a valid case to be made. In his previous 136 KHL games, Tryamkin only recorded 87 penalty minutes. Here is a KHL video of his “hitting” game in action. Maybe keep in mind the fact that the KHL is less physically oriented than the NHL is.

And of course, the NHL might force Tryamkin to take advantage of his size and start throwing his weight around a bit more. Humans are made to adapt, eh? Hopefully, that is the case with Tryamkin.

Next: Tryamkin Analysis: The Fit in VAN