Player: Mikhail Gulyayev
Team: The Omsk system (Avangard Omsk [KHL], Omskie Yastreby [MHL], Omskie Krylia [VHL])
Date of Birth: April 26th, 2005
Height: 5’10” (179 cm)
Weight: 170 lbs (77 kg)
Shoots: Left
Position: Defense
The 2023 NHL draft class will see one of the finest Russian classes to date, having as many as five players worthy of a first-round pick. Among them, hailing out of the wintry Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia is Mikhail Gulyayev. Bouncing around the Omsk system in 2022-23, Gulyayev has played in the KHL, VHL, and MHL. While he ascertained that the MHL is too easy (12 points in only six games), he’s yet to find a sustainable scoring pace in both the VHL and KHL. In a combined 22 games between the two pro leagues, Gulyayev has five assists with no goals. He’s also earned the trust of his coaches on the power play, and in penalty kill situations. He’s also received top ice time in the MHL and VHL.
It’s a certainty that HK Sochi’s Matvei Michkov will be the first Russian player chosen, but that shouldn’t have people disregard Mikhail Gulyayev. Aside from the scoring, Gulyayev encloses countless capabilities that could make him the best defenseman in the 2023 NHL draft. Today, we’ll go over what makes this defenseman so premium.
Mikhail Gulyayev is Among the Best Defensemen in the 2023 NHL Draft
Two-way dominance
Mikhail Gualyayev is viewed as a high-scoring junior player who contributes to the offensive zone. A suitable player on the powerplay who knows how to generate high-danger chances from far. We’ve seen Gulyayev set up teammates using his innovative and definitive passing and deceptiveness ability, and we’ve even seen him take shots from the blue line that bounced to his teammates for a rebound. To say that he’s proficient offensively is an understatement. But he’s also got an incredible defensive game to him. Though lightweight, Gulyayev understands how to play a more solemn and aggressive checking style that allows him to pin opponents to walls and suppress their chances at breaking free. He does this best in his zone, close to the back of his net. We’ll dive deeper into his defensive abilities like that later. But for now, his two-way strength. Gulyayev comprehends the importance of structural defensive hockey, even though his gameness to participate offensively remains obvious. Misha can find ways to be active and consistent in all three zones in one shift. His two-way ability feels unpaired compared to other 2023 draft-eligible defenders because of his ability to contribute in the three zones. Offensively, he knows how to get pucks through traffic and find his teammates in high-danger areas. He is willing to be on edge with every shift, and find ways to wire the puck through heavy loads. In transition, he shows action. He isn’t afraid to mess up or lose the puck. He knows how to partake in transition movements by making a breakout pass, or single-handedly carrying the puck through the zone squirming through attackers and defenders. Defensively, he plays a cool, calm, and collected game where you’ll never see him scattering or losing positioning. He relies on his defensive IQ to successfully cover shooting and open passing lanes. He never lashes out of panic. And when he seldom does, he knows how to conform to where he’s supposed to go and finds himself back in perfect defensive positioning. This two-way dominance will make him a more appealing option for NHL teams.
Skating
Modern hockey requires players to be quick, agile, and fluid when it comes down to skating. Mikhail Gulyayev retains all of those aptitudes. A lot of Gulyayev’s game relies on his fantastic skating ability. With shades of Quinn Hughes’ edge work and technique, plus Alex Debrincat’s speed, Gulyayev utilizes his skating best when escaping from high pressure and helping out in transition. Scouts will mention how Gulyayev’s puck protection is remarkable for his size, but a lot of that should be credited to how snappy he is. Gulyayev’s skating feels and looks like a shadow of Quinn Hughes, but the distinction is that Misha’s skating is much more defined. His speed permits him to get around the ice timely and fluid. His feet move quickly and smoothly enough to help him catch up to any pace. In the KHL, Gulyayev has verified that his skating is good enough for the pro level.
Translating this modernized skating to the NHL will see unquestionably no issues. Despite his tendency to mess up with his puck handling or his occasional brain farts, his skating has saved him from completely abandoning his position on numerous occasions. As mentioned earlier, Gulyayev loves to activate and move around the ice to assist in any situation. His skating helps him get back to formality quickly and fluidly. The way he moves around the ice is beyond bewitching. It leaves you in astonishment just how calmy but quickly his feet move. His skating does need a better sense of deceptiveness, though. Although he may be a swift skater who can flee from tight spaces like it’s nothing, he needs to work on having skaters bite on some of his motions. His skating carries such an agile look, it’s indisputable that he has the potential to grow into a deceitful skater. Right now, it hasn’t clicked in that variety. But it’s doable, and I do see it enhancing soon.
Offensive abilities
Earlier, I noted that most people refer to Mikhail Gulyayev as an offensive defenseman. While he’s a two-way player, his offensive perseverance feels unmatched. Gulyayev is one of the hardest-working players out of every 2023 draft-eligible Russians. He’s always on his heels, ready to make a play. Whether it’s a setup pass, a shot, or a powerplay cycle, he brings a sense of activity and deceptiveness. His hands start to engage as he reads the defence like a book. He knows how to operate the open ice well on the powerplay and tends to get defenders to bite. When he starts to move around the puck, opponents fail to catch up to Misha’s level. His fast-paced game corresponds the fast-paced skating.
It combines a beautiful mixture of quickness, fluidity, and offensive swagger. He moves at the pace of the puck faultlessly, and he’ll never bat away from it. He scans the area to think of a play before he gets the puck on his stick. He’s reliable when delivering and receiving passes, as he threads pass through traffic like a thread through a needle. His offensive awareness is consistently on point, meaning that whenever a teammate needs an escape pass in a high-pressure situation, Gulyayev helps out anywhere in the offensive zone.
This unstoppable offensive ability has earned him his rightful powerplay time, and he’s used it to his advantage. Gulyayev is the ideal quarterback for any power play. He’s fully mastered the cycle game and does it fast, too. Like at even strength, Gulyayev’s high-paced puck movement and deceptiveness have authorized him to cycle the puck and generate primary and secondary scoring possibilities for his team. He thinks outside of the box, and he thinks quickly. The moment he gets the puck, Gulyayev knows how to draw up plays and make the most precise passes. He never second-guesses himself, and his ideas work out.
Gulyayev does need to work on his shooting, though. He executes outlandish moves to open clear shooting lanes but ends up with a weak shot. His shot lacks unpredictability, strength, and aim. It’s a monumental work in progress. The shots Gulyayev takes are so uneventful and slow that the goalies have the utmost time to read them and make the save. As for aim, he always shoots low and directly into the goalie’s tummy. Defensemen naturally have worse aiming when it comes to shooting, but the fact that he brings no heaviness or “boom effect” makes it a bit of a liability. Whatever NHL team drafts Mikhail Gualyayev will end up with a terrific two-way player who can activate in any offensive situation given to him. I ask, though. Please fix that unbearable shooting.
Defensive ability
Mikhail Gulyayev may be the serenest defender in Russia for his age group. Most KHL and VHL defenders have scattered, panicky defensive styles that often misfire. Because of the larger ice surface in Europe, these defenders tend to lash out and attack the puck. Mikhail Gulyayev can do that, but it doesn’t work out (as expected). Gulyayev tends to mess up and get ahead of himself. Most of those missteps transpire when he isn’t keeping his composure in the defensive zone. But when he is at 100%, he plays a mesmerizing defensive game that appears unpretentious, sneaky, and effective. Gulyayev’s biggest defensive talent is how calmy he approaches defence. He’s never finding himself making extra disproportionate moves that tire him out. He bears the fantastic asset of only making the play he has to make. He’ll occasionally jump in to pressure an attacker when he has to. But most of the time, he’ll never chase a puck that has no chance of contacting. He won’t abandon his defensive spot unless it’s safe to do and knows where and how to stay in his role. He knows when to jump on opportunities when they present themselves. For example, Gulyayev won’t attack a player who’s negligently skating around down low. But the second that player enters a vulnerable position where he has no pullback, Gulyayev will close down on the player and ultimately trap the player. Those plays ascertain that Gulyayev knows how to play conservatively, saving his energy. It makes him look tranquil and discreet, but it makes him feel sneaky to opponents, and it sure as heck works. It also helps him stay out on the ice for longer and helps him saves energy for when he inevitably explodes to help out in transition and the offensive zone. This defensive calmness and collectivity round out his defensive game along with his smarts. He plays positionally 9/10 times. He knows how to act under coercion. You’ll never catch him throwing away a puck, nor will you witness him lacking awareness. He regularly scans the zone for incoming opponents, and his stick always covers up any open spaces he can’t reach physically. Those spaces include passing and shooting lanes left unrestricted for attackers desiring to pass or shoot.
Size
If people could magically change their height and weight overnight, Gulyayev would likely be a completely different player than he is now. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Misha Gulyayev’s weak spot is his size and how he utilizes it. Weighing in at 170 pounds makes it much more challenging for him to play against men twice his size. That is the exact outcome that we’ve been seeing. Gulyayev has been knocked off the puck far too lightly in the KHL. He’s also been forced down too often and has lost far too many puck battles in his zone. It looks like all those physical derailments have negatively affected how he approaches those physical situations because the more he played in the KHL, the more he started to avoid them. He’s given up on the puck in corners because he looks scared. Now that may not be the case, but there’s not enough physical tenacity in his game. We’ve seen him back down too many times. It’s cost him pucks in weak spots of the ice. There is hope, fortunately. When Gulyayev played in the VHL and MHL, he looked much more confident. He attempted far more physical maneuvers; he regularly went for big hits and tie-ups against the wall, and he looked engaged and willing to bring that physical tenacity to another tier. In the KHL, it’s all faded away. Mikhail has looked more helpless. Gulyayev needs to work on his self-confidence when playing against men twice his size, even if he doesn’t think he can outplay them in those situations. He should also try to gain a little more muscle mass in the gym, as it’ll help him avoid getting knocked down and pushed off the puck. Again, these issues are all very solvable. The fact that these issues can be fixed within a year or two proves that Gulyayev is a reliable draft option and that the ceiling is sky-high.
Conclusion
Mikhail Gulyayev is a skillful two-way defender who possesses countless attributes that make him a promising defender in modern hockey. His ability to play a calm, collected defensive game that explodes into an offensive dynamo makes him a trustworthy defender. His toolbox makes him a player who can be utilized at any moment. He’s able to play on powerplay and penalty kill, exceeding best at even strength. Because he’s played so well in the KHL and has shown maximum improvement year after year, it makes him a reliable draft pick heading into the 2023 NHL entry draft. His contract keeps him out of North America until 2025, but it isn’t a stretch to say that he’ll be ready to take on the top 4 NHL minutes once he comes over. The way I see it is that he’s the best defenseman in the 2023 NHL draft, and that likely won’t change. Gulyayev has shown total dominance in the MHL, and it’s only a matter of time before it translates to the professional leagues in Russia.
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