The Dallas Stars have selected right wing Denis Guryanov of the KHL’s Ladia Togliatti in Russia with the twelfth overall selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
The Stars did not address their porous defense by adding someone to the blueline, but added a scorer that is speedy and love to use the body. He just turned 18 on June 7, so being drafted is a nice belated birthday present.
He’s got a very high ceiling, but teams might have been scared away by the potential of him staying in Russia. He’s a great stickhandler that has a hard and accurate shot that he loves to release in or around the faceoff dot. If he can’t get is shot off, he’ll try to use his 6’2″, 185 pound frame to rush the net.
Guryanov also works hard and gets off the blocks fast with a great first step. He won’t be one of the smaller European players that has a hard time adjusting to the more rough-and-tumble North American game that has a smaller ice surface.
He racked up 15 goals and 10 assists for Ladia this season and was also a member of the silver medal-winning Russian World Junior team at the 2015 tournament
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He still might need a little polish on the defensive end, and hasn’t faced the most elite competition in the world. However, he can hustle and the Stars need a player like him that can be a bull in the rugged Central Division.
The Stars will next pick with the 49th pick in the second round stemming from the Erik Cole trade. Dallas also picks in the fourth round at 103, the fifth round at 133, the sixth round at 163 and the seventh round at 193.
For more on the 2015 NHL Draft, be sure to follow The Hockey Writers’ live draft tracker throughout the night.
