The United States National Team Development Program has become an absolute factory over the last handful of years for producing high end NHL talent. In the five NHL Entry Drafts between 2015 and 2019, there were a whopping 34 first round selections that played for the program at some point. The staff in Plymouth, Michigan are doing something write with these kids, and this year’s draft is no exception.
Sasha Pastujov has the chance to add yet another first round pick to the NTDP’s resume, and it’s all based on an absolutely wicked shot. As of this writing, Pastujov has put 27 pucks in the back of the net in only 40 games played this season. Goal scoring production like that is something every team in the NHL craves, so the talented winger should be drawing the attention of plenty of scouts as the season progresses.
Let’s just get this out of the way now: the kid can shoot. Like, really well.
His insane accuracy is resemblant of Cole Caufield:
His lethal one-timer makes him an ideal weapon on the power play:
He’s able to adjust to a pass when It’s not exactly where he wants it:
And he can get his shot off just as accurately while fighting through traffic:
You get the point: Pastujov has one of the best shots in the entire draft class and can put the puck in the net as well as anyone can at this age. The insane part to me is that there’s still a lot of room for his shot to get better. As good as his shot is, I don’t love his mechanics, as there’s not a lot of weight transfer when shooting in movement. Once he gets stronger and adds this element to his shot, look out.
While the rest of his offensive skillset isn’t going to get talked about as much, there’s still a lot more to his attacking toolkit than an elite shot.
His playmaking is pretty underrated, especially when set up in the offensive zone and/or on the power play. Notice the deception to look off the defender on the puck to open up the passing lane, and then the quick twitch movement to snap the puck to the intended target.
He quickly processes what’s around him in the offensive zone and acts on it, this time with a beautiful no-look pass.
His hands are very good as well, as he’s able to stickhandle close to his body and make lateral movements to shake defenders.
He’s not afraid to drive the net and generate offense in tight:
And his excellent hand-eye coordination allows him to make plays like this (the player trying the lacrosse move, Jack Hughes, will be a hot commodity in 2022):
The thing that’s holding me back from ranking Pastujov as a top 20 player in this year’s draft is his skating. His agility isn’t bad, but his speed is closer to that of a Tier II junior league than a Tier I like the USHL. Notice how Pastujov is skating at full speed while his linemates are coasting, waiting for him to gain the zone.
There were a lot of times that I saw him getting denied at the blue line, and I can’t help but think that better straight-line speed would’ve yielded a different result.
The clip above is a perfect representation of what he could be in transition at the next level and why he isn’t there yet. The magical hands to escape two defenders in the neutral zone, but lackluster skating speed allows for an easy denial at the blue line.
The following clip was against a team in the North American Hockey League, a Tier II junior league affiliated with the USHL. At full speed, Pastujov’s skating is merely average compared to his competition.
The mechanics of his stride need a lot of work. He could use a bit more bend in his knees, although the real issue is how far out from under him his legs go after each stride. That’s causing the weird wobble you see in his stride and it’s part of why I saw him randomly fall down a lot more than his teammates.
Another big problem with his skating is that I often times found Pastujov to simply not be moving his feet. Notice here how if he takes as much as one more stride towards the net instead of coasting, he has a tap in goal.
Or here, where he’d be able to make some sort of scoring chance out of this play if he moved his feet. Instead, he settles for a very low percentage shot.
Pastujov’s stationary feet were often times holding back himself and his team. In the clip below, he makes a very nice play in transition, but then stops moving his feet. When the return pass comes, he’s too far behind the pass to bury it.
It’s a very quick developing play, but he clearly knew the pass was coming. If he does so much as make a crossover stride as he turns towards the net, he probably would have been able to score.
Defensively, Pastujov does a fairly good job of getting into shooting lines and activating on the walls in the neutral zone. By no means is he an elite two-way winger, but he won’t be a huge defensive liability at the next level.
This is a beautiful example of what Pastujov’s best can be at higher levels. Entering the zone with a bit of pace, make a quick move to beat a defender, get the lethal shot off, and digging the puck free on the wall to get possession back. You can’t ask for much more out of your wingers than that.
This is what Pastujov needs to be doing more of as his career progresses. The University of Notre Dame commit needs to spend a lot of time working on his skating before he’s ready to make the jump to the pro ranks. I suspect he’ll take two or three years playing in college before signing with whoever drafts him to develop his strength and skating ability, but he has potential to be well worth the wait.
As of right now, it’s tough to project Pastujov as more than a middle six winger that will make a living on the power play. I do think that if his skating improves enough while at Notre Dame, he’ll be a serviceable top six forward that can be the second or third option to enter the zone while providing incredible value on the man advantage and when set up in the offensive zone at 5v5. That potential makes him a worthy first round pick in my eyes.
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