In a little over a month, all 32 NHL teams will gather in Las Vegas for the 2024 Entry Draft. The Anaheim Ducks have the third pick in this year’s draft, where they will have a choice between a few high-end prospects. Despite the high pick, it’s difficult to gauge who will be available — the San Jose Sharks will presumably select Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick, but the Chicago Blackhawks will be on the clock next with the draft’s first real decision.
Related: Anaheim Ducks Should Use 3rd Pick in 2024 NHL Draft on a Defenseman
In the coming weeks, we’ll explore players who could be available to Anaheim at third overall. Today we’re covering Anton Silayev, a defenseman from Russia currently playing for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He’s rocketed up draft boards in the last year and is now a near-consensus top-five pick.
A Potential Game-Breaker on the Blue Line
Silayev’s standout attribute is his size. At 6-foot-7, he has the build every NHL general manager dreams of in a blueliner. Despite his large frame, he’s an exceptionally smooth skater. THW’s Logan Horn suggests his mobility is already NHL-caliber in his draft profile. His offensive game is a bit of a wild card, however. He wasn’t a prolific scorer before his most recent season with Torpedo Novgorod, but he got off to a quick start with six points in his first six games. His pace slowed to 11 points in 63 games, but that’s still a remarkable feat for a teenage defenseman in the KHL. He should have a shot with more weight behind him as he grows into his frame.
With his defensive acumen, Silayev can form a formidable pairing with one of Anaheim’s several puck-moving defensemen. The Ducks have a lot of prospects on the blue line, but many of them are more geared towards play-driving and more offense in general. Silayev’s balanced and responsible style of play could allow a defensive partner like Pavel Mintyukov or Olen Zellweger to run the offense and take chances they otherwise wouldn’t. It’s worth mentioning all three of these players are left-handed, but playing off-hand isn’t necessarily uncommon.
Mintyukov and Russian Defensemen in the NHL
Despite being a prolific exporter of NHL talent, Russia doesn’t produce many defensemen. There are only 17 active Russian defensemen with at least one NHL game. Individual talent and skills reign supreme at the developmental level in Russia, which runs counter to the risk-averse structure of an NHL defense.
Among active Russian defensemen is Anaheim’s Mintyukov. After a fantastic rookie campaign, he looks like a great top-four defenseman with a great chance at running on the top pairing. His transition to the North American version of the game took time — he was drafted into the Ontario Hockey League in 2020 and played one season with the Sarnia Sting before his draft year.
The Ducks further helped Mintyukov by acquiring Ilya Lyubushkin in the preseason. Lyubushkin is a veteran of 350 NHL games, but he’s also one of the other 17 Russian defensemen in the league. It’s not something you can quantify, but having a familiar presence, like a fellow countryman, could be helpful while adjusting to the new lifestyle of the NHL. Mintyukov even started the season paired with Lyubushkin before he played his way up the lineup.
Mintyukov’s path to the draft plays similarly to Silayev’s. After a modest junior career in Russia, both players had superb draft years to vault them up the board, with Mintyukov going 10th in 2022 and Silayev increasingly unlikely to make it out of the top five. However, Silayev won’t have the acclimation Mintyukov was afforded, as he’s under contract in the KHL for two more seasons. His first games on North American ice will likely be the preseason games leading into his rookie season in 2026-27. While that will be an adjustment, Anaheim has shown remarkable patience with their defensive prospects.
