Feb 24, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) during the third period of the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) during the third period of the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
Nikita Tryamkin will look to remind the Vancouver Canucks why they can now win Lord Stanley’s Hardware.
The Vancouver Canucks were just periods away from laying their hands on the Stanley Cup when a 6-foot-9 giant stepped up and said no. And to the 250-pound Zdeno Chara, did the people of Vancouver ever speak with their actions. Chara, alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, were hated for years after in Vancouver.
Nikita Tryamkin is going to try to repeat that feat — for the right team, that is.
The Vancouver Canucks officially announced the signing of the 6-foot-8, 240-pound defenceman to a two-year entry-level deal on Tuesday. And yes — 6-foot-8 at 240 pounds is the official word from Jim Benning himself.
Benning said #Canucks have filed a contract for Nikita Tryamkin; he will play in Van this season. "He's 6-8, 240 and moblie, he's a freak"
According to News 1130, a Russian translator is coming to Vancouver to help Tryamkin with his English communication. He will be the one and only Russian-speaking player in the Canucks locker room unless Andrey Pedan makes the team.
The former third-round pick of the 2014 NHL Entry draft has played his entire pro career in the KHL with the Yekaterinburg Avtomobilist. This season he has recorded 11 points in 53 regular season games while stacking up 71 minutes in penalties. Playing as a top-four stay-at-home defenceman this season, the 21-year-old will look to play a Zdeno Chara’s game.
Here is Tryamkin’s pre-draft interview from the 2014 draft:
Tryamkin got his wish to get to the NHL two years after his draft. Will he meet the already heightened Vancouver expectation to be the second Chara in the making?
Analyzing every facet of Tryamkin’s coming to Vancouver, here is your guide to Nikita Tryamkin, the 21-year-old Russian and the newest member of your Vancouver Canucks.
No matter how a player plays, if his contract is rubbish, he will forever put his management under criticism. Contracts are always important in this money-oriented league. Here is the low-down on Nikita Tryamkin’s first NHL contract.
Two-year contract at $925k
European Assignment Clause
RFA expiry status
Term
The first year of the two-year contract will be used up for the remaining games of the 2015-16 season. This means that Tryamkin’s contract will expire at the end of the 2016-17 season, for which he will be paid $925k.
Salary
His $925 000 average salary now ranks the seventh-most expensive one on the Vancouver blueline below Yannick Weber‘s at $1.5 million and above Ben Hutton‘s at $896.25k. For reference, Alex Biega is inked to a similar deal (two-year long) at $600k.
There is also a signing bonus included in the two years. Tryamkin receives $185k in total over the two years as the signing bonus.
The European Assignment Clause allows Tryamkin to head over to the KHL when he is waived out of Vancouver. Although the Canucks are highly unlikely to have to waive Tryamkin anytime soon, should Jim Benning have to send Tryamkin down to the AHL, the Russian will have the option of returning to the KHL.
That should also deter the management from doing anything stupid like waiving Tryamkin in the first place. This clause is a win-win for both Tryamkin and the Canucks management.
A Two-Year Deal: Foreseeing Trouble
Despite all the talk about having loads of cash to spend this offseason, the Vancouver Canucks are making their future more difficult money-wise by inking Tryamkin to a contract that ends in 2017. Take a look at this list of players who will look to get resigned after the 2016-17 season:
Now add Tryamkin to that list. All of these players are integral parts of the new core. Tryamkin and Hutton will look for bridge deals while Markstrom and Horvat could demand big money. Resigning the five (including Gaunce) will take quite a bit of work to do.
That being said, the Canucks will be free from a couple of big contracts, too. Alex Burrows and Ryan Miller are set to come off the books in the offseason after the 2016-17 season.
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.
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.
Tryamkin is the most Jim Benning defenceman in the system now. Of course — Benning drafted the Russian himself, did he not? Big, mobile defenceman with a blistering shot? File this under one of the better picks of the Benning Era.
At age 21, he is part of the core of the new era. The problem is that the new era has not settled in quite yet. There is no room for Tryamkin on a Canucks blueline already littered with defencemen.
Alex Edler, Chris Tanev, Ben Hutton, Luca Sbisa, and Alex Biega are all signed through next year. Defenceman Philip Larsen should draw into the lineup next year after Benning acquired his rights from the Edmonton Oilers for a fifth-round pick. Andrey Pedan has been given the green light to proceed to the NHL.
And with a mutual verbal agreement virtually bringing veteran Dan Hamhuis back to Vancouver next year, Vancouver already has eight defencemen penciled in for next season. With Benning also saying that the Canucks will draft a defenceman (early) in the first round of the 2016 draft, that number is bound to grow to 10.
Nikita Tryamkin, you have your work cut out for you. Who can you bump? Who can you challenge? Is an injury-riddled Alex Edler a possible target to bump in the near future?
Putting Luca Sbisa on the block?
The most popular name on the trade block seems to be none other than Luca Sbisa. And I can understand why. Perhaps Tryamkin’s physical presence can replace Sbisa’s. Tryamkin is a better skater and passer than Sbisa is. The main objection to that is that Sbisa has the edge that Tryamkin does not. And of course, Sbisa just scored a goal on Wednesday.
But watching the highlight reel from the 2014 World Juniors, a part of me thinks that Sbisa’s offensive production is overrated compared to how underrated Tryamkin’s offensive production is. Mind you, that was from two years ago.
Now this is a Tryamkin feature video from his KHL play in 2014-15. Feel free to watch the rest of the video if you want to challenge your Russian skills. Remember, this is him playing against men. This video should give a better feel as to what his every day play looks like:
Next: Tryamkin Analysis: The On-Ice Chemistry
Tryamkin Analysis: The On-Ice Chemistry
Before anything — is it just me, or does that look a very Canuck thing to do, scrambling across and swiping the puck off the goal mouth with the gloves? I bet that Alex Edler is feeling is the netminder’s envy watching this clip.
Tryamkin made it a goal of his to improve his English. Nevertheless, it will be great for him to start off playing on a pairing with a fellow Russian speaker, in the form of either Larsen or Pedan. Both look to be locked to make the NHL next season. If it is not those two, it has got to be Hamhuis who plays to the opposite of Tryamkin, the most veteran one around.
Maybe the prospects of playing with a 6-foot-8 Tryamkin makes Hamhuis want to take a bigger cut to stay in Vancouver? Who knows?
So if both Pedan and Tryamkin make the team, does that eliminate the need for Luca Sbisa? Tough call for Jim Benning. You know, Sbisa is just three years older than Pedan is.
Biega, on the other hand, is actually two years older than Sbisa is. He doesn’t need more minutes. He is the perfect depth defenceman. The Bulldog is the kind of player who can step in and fill in for anyone with his hard play and work ethic. His featherweight contract makes it easy for the team to scratch him, too.
Nikita Tryamkin is a versatile stay-at-home defenceman who is enabled by his massive 6-foot-8 frame to play in all situations. He will learn to play the powerplay as the shooter and as the net-front presence while clogging up the boards to disrupt the opposition’s cycle in the Canucks’ defensive zone. His frame is most notable for allowing him to reach in and be active with his stick.
Although his contract termination may coincide with other notable ones like Markstrom’s, Horvat’s, and Hutton’s, the real issue will be the roster spot battle. The blueline looks packed, to say the least, and it will be up to Tryamkin to claim his spot in the coming season. Difficulty re-signing players in the offseason always happens anyhow.
The language barrier is certainly there. The transition from the artistic play of the KHL to the intense play of the NHL will certainly take some work for Tryamkin. He has the natural ingredient to make it all happen. Hopefully, Willie Desjardins and the trainers can make it happen.
According to TSN1040, Tryamkin will be wearing #88 with the Canucks this season, as he has with his KHL team this season.
But for now, time in the AHL might not be too far off for Tryamkin. May as well play him 30 minutes a night for a winning Travis Green than 15 minutes a night for just a handful of games under a losing Willie Desjardins, eh?
And of course, Andrey Pedan is there, too. Wonder if the Russian chemistry will be there instantly. Again, Sbisa is the odd one out. Especially with Jim Benning saying that teams are calling on Sbisa, you have to wonder if the Canucks could get a good return for him. Sbisa was just another part of the Ryan Kesler trade, right?
I like Sbisa, but… wonder what a return could look like even as a rental.
And to cap it off, here is Nikita Tryamkin now in Vancouver. Welcome home to your most passionate* of fans!
Nikita Tryamkin. Is he the next Zdeno Chara? There will be growing pains for sure. But regardless of how good he may turn out to be, Vancouver will be mighty happy with Jim Benning’s drafting and how the top-six will look with the 6-foot-8 Tryamkin in the mix.
Here are some more tidbits as I get more updates from his interview:
When is the last time anyone had the guts to say this before he played a single shift in the NHL? Wow.
Although Tryamkin has always been compared to Chara, he wants to surpass him and be known as Tryamkin, not another Chara. #Canucks
Tryamkin’s ultimate goal is the NHL, and if he needs to go back for a stint in the KHL to become more ready for the NHL he will do so. The European Assignment Clause is important to him as he does not want to play outside of Russia unless it is for the NHL. I think Vancouver can forget about this guy slacking off.
Lastly, there are hints of youth leadership already. Bo Horvat, Jared McCann, and Jake Virtanen have been in touch with Tryamkin ever since the draft, apparently.
Tryamkin has stayed in touch with Horvat, Virtanen and McCann since being drafted. #Canucks
Lastly, good news for Canucks fans. He can play both sides of the defence. Most importantly, he confirmed his height and weight. That was quite the drama.
Tryamkin confirms he is 6'8" and 240 pounds, he isn't concerned about transition to NHL and he can play the right or left side. #Canucks
