Carolina Hurricanes: Alexander Pashin is the steal of the 2020 draft

The Carolina Hurricanes may have a future star in Alexander Pashin

The Russian forward fell all the way down to pick 199 in the 7th round to the Carolina Hurricanes and he’s going to be the steal of this draft class.

This man is going to be an NHL player if he chooses to come across. He’s so talented, and with two fellow skilled Russians being selected in the first round (Rodion Amirov went 15th overall to Toronto, Shakir Mukhamadullin went 20th overall to New Jersey), I’m surprised Pashin didn’t go higher up the draft.

Widely regarded as a 2nd round talent, Alexander Pashin fell to pick 199. Yes, he fell to the 7th round as a 2nd line talent, meaning there’s no pressure on this pick. If Pashin doesn’t do anything in his career, no one will blink twice as a 7th round pick. However, if he becomes a middle-six player, like a lot of projections have him being, then we’re talking about a steal in Pashin.

So, Pashin. He’s a very attacking winger. I don’t mean he’s bad defensively, I mean he almost approaches as a soccer-style winger. He wants to get around the defender as soon as possible, and he doesn’t care how he does it. If he skates by them or turns them inside out, It seems not to matter to him in the slightest.

Something that does visibly stand out with Alexander Pashin is his hockey sense off the puck. He never switches off. His brain always seems to be thinking about where he can make the biggest impact. Does he have a license to get forward and create havoc with his stickhandling and incredible speed, or does he need to be in a better defensive position? He rarely gets it wrong.

That said his defense is inconsistent, as is his offense, but there’s certainly something to work with in regards to this 7th round pick, 199th overall. There’s a far better chance we see Pashin in the NHL than most 7th round picks made this year, and this is nothing against someone like Ronan Seeley who Carolina took in the 7th round and is a solid pick. Pashin is just that good a talent.

He’s got an incredible shot, He’s really good with his hands, his skating is incredible. The only knock on Pashin is that Anton Babchuk‘s stick was larger than him. Pashin is 5’8, and the small frame seems to have put teams off to the point where a 2nd round talent fell to the 7th round, and Carolina did an excellent job in getting a bargain at that pick if they think he’ll grow and fill out.

Now, there is the KHL factor with Pashin. Meaning we’re likely not going to see him in North America for a fair bit of time. However, I would expect him to eventually make the transition across the pond to the Chicago Wolves originally before we do see him in a Canes uniform. He likely will take 3-4 years before we see him in America because he is currently a KHL rookie.

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Pashin is 5’8, 155. He’s like a stick with a stick. But he’s so talented with his all-around game, and the way he’s able to avoid big hits, skate around defenders, or do basically anything like that is incredible. A lot of so-called “experts” had him as a potential late 1st round pick. Most as a 2nd rounder, some in the early 3rd. He fell to pick 199, in the 7th round. This could be an absolute gold mine.

So far this season in Russia, Pashin has played 6 games in 2 different leagues. In the KHL, he played 3 games without finding his way onto the scoresheet. In the MHL, Pashin has 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points in 3 games. There’s no doubting the talent with Pashin. This also doesn’t include any offense created because of Pashin’s ability to pull defenders away and out of position.

Alexander Pashin might not have been a household name before the draft like Alexis Lafreniere was. But Pashin is a very talented young man. Capable of destroying leagues, Pashin is a name you’ll want to remember as Canes fans, because he very well may be a Carolina Hurricane one day. He’s got a better chance than most 7th round picks. An incredible job by the Canes amateur scouting staff.