Wolves select top Russian talent

The Sudbury Wolves used their third overall selection in the 2015 CHL Import Draft to take a player many NHL scouts will have their eye on next year.

The Wolves brass were all smiles as they grabbed forward/centre Dmitry Sokolov earlier today.

“He is a big forward, has a pro shot, he is one of those guys that we expect to put up big numbers in our league based on his performance this past year,” said President Blaine Smith.

“He’s a player that is on everyone’s radar, he is a player that we feel will be a solution to part of our problem of putting the puck in the net,” said Smith.

The native of Omsk, Russia is 17-years old and TSN has him listed as the projected seventh overall selection in the 2016 NHL draft, while Top Prospects has him at number eight.

The Wolves drafted Sokolov believing he will make an immediate impact.

“If you have a selection especially where we are picking at third overall, it has to be an impact player, a guy who can step in and be a top six forward for us,” said Smith.

"(He's) highly talented, a typical Russian player who knows how to make something out of nothing," said Wolves' European scout Dan Cuomo.

"Give him the puck anywhere on the ice, and he knows how to beat one or two guys and create a scoring opportunity; just a super talent” .

Sokolov finished third in scoring at the 2014 IIHF World Under 17 Hockey Challenge in Sarnia leading Russia to gold.

At the 2015 IIHF U18 World Championship, he racked up five points in five games, and tallied 13 goals and 3 assists in 29 games for Omskie Yastreby of the Russian Junior Hockey League, Molodezhnaya Hokkeynaya Liga (MHL).

Cuomo said if he had to point out a weakness it would be his physical play. While he is 6'2" and over 200 pounds, Cuomo says he doesn’t initiate physically.

The import draft can be quite risky as there is a chance the player could choose not to come to North America, something the Wolves feel is not the case.

“We’ve done our homework, we feel like we have established a relationship because of where he is from, we are pretty confident he will be here and we are already making arrangements to make that happen,” said Smith.

When Sokolov does make the move to Sudbury, Smith says he could be an impact player for the next two seasons.

“It’s the first time that we have selected a player that has been rated so high. He is a player who can come in and pay immediate dividends for us. But also if he is able to return next year depending where he gets drafted and by whom, that could be a huge plus for us. He is a player we could have for two years here and help lead us back to where we need to be.”

The move meant some decisions for Sudbury as they can only have two import players on their roster. They chose to pass on their second pick in the import draft and took a chance on Pavel Jenys, the Wolves' top point producer from a season ago.

“Unfortunately we had to get rid of one of our European players; Ivan Kashtonov was let go, so we protected Pavel Jenys. He is a player that Minnesota has signed, but have indicated to us that returning him to junior is certainly an option they would consider,” said Smith.

“We feel the risk is worth it, because he is such a good player and such a good person and we would love to have him back.”