It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! The 2024 NHL Draft will take place on June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Next up for us is Russian defender Matvei Shuravin. Shuravin has some very different projections depending on the source, going anywhere from 19th to 71st overall. Likely landing as a mid-to-late second-round pick.
| PLAYER | POSITION | HANDEDNESS | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AVG TOI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matvei Shuravin | LD | Left | 6’4″ | 198 lbs | 15:23 |
Shuravin’s On-Ice Production
| YEAR | DRAFT RELATIVE | LEAGUE | TEAM | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | D-2 | Russia U16 | CSKA Moskva U16 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Russia U17 | CSKA Moskva U17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| International-Jr | Russia U16 (all) | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2022–23 | D-1 | MHL | Krasnaya Armiya Moskva | 27 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| International-Jr | Russia U17 (all) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | D+0 | KHL | CSKA Moskva | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| VHL | Zvezda Moskva | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| MHL | Krasnaya Armiya Moskva | 22 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Playing a mix of all levels of Russian hockey this past season has added uncertainty to the skills that the defender shows, making projections slightly more uncertain. This also means he could be a hidden gem of the 2024 draft.
Shuravin was born in Moscow on March 22, 2006, and has grown up in the Moscow sports scene. He has been in CSKA Moscow’s system for the past couple of seasons and has shown significant growth as a defender, leading to his selection for Russian U16 and U17 teams in the past.
The big defender has bounced around a bit this past season, playing in three different leagues: the VHL, MHL, and KHL. However, CSKA Moscow has shown interest in helping the young homegrown product flourish, as they have agreed to a three-year extension with the 6-foot-4 Shuravin.
What type of game does Shuravin play? He plays that of a two-way defender whose game revolves around defensive play, puck skills, and skating.
Shuravin’s Strengths
Zone play
Zone-play is the bread and butter for this left-shot defenceman. Shuravin displays some quality defensive instincts, positioning, and habits.
Shuravin starts a staggering 66% of his shifts in the defensive zone, which speaks to the Russian defender’s defensive instincts. In transition, when he is in position, it can really set him up to succeed in physically punishing opposing players to the outside while harassing them with an advantageous reaching poke check.
In zone, Shuravin shows a high compete level as he is relentless on opponents, chasing them when he needs to or being a defensive stalwart with stick checks, opponent tie-ups, and maintaining favorable defensive body leverage. All of this points to good defensive awareness and hockey IQ.
These combined skills help him shut down chances against before they even start.
Shuravin is also very much a team player, not scared of board battles or entering shot-blocking lanes. Additionally, the young Russian shows decent defensive poise for a defender of his age.
Shuravin’s poise is matched with a high compete level, best articulated by his puck battle win percentage, which sits at 60% for the entire 2023–24 season.
Puck skills
Shuravin also displays advanced puck skills. From decent puck protection in board play to puck handling on offensive rushes, the young defender shows a knack for the puck.
In o-zone play, Shuravin proves to be a capable facilitator who, although lacking creativity/vision, will provide smooth and clean short passes, activations with the puck, and slap passes. This shows some elements of a more advanced hockey IQ.
Skating
Although Shuravin does need to work on his power to really flesh out his skating aptitude, this is one area where the Russian defender shows some promise.
Through a clean(ish) stride, decent lateral acceleration, and good agility, the 6-foot-4 defender is able to generate a good amount of speed, which can translate to clean entries and exits for his team.
In zone play, he displays good outside edgework with quick pivots to open up a new lane offensively or change the direction of a defensive pursuit.
The prospective second-rounder’s skating posture also stands out for a player of his size, with good bent knees and ankle flection. The young defender also has an above-average motor that helps further aid his skating while allowing him to somewhat keep pace in transition.
Shuravin’s areas of improvement
Transitional play
Transitional play is not Shuravin’s strong point. The CSKA Moscow defender often struggles with the speed of opponents at the KHL level, which translates to some poor displays of gap control and can cause issues in play anticipation.
Offensive play
One of the biggest issues with Shuravin’s offensive game is its predictability. From his less-than-stellar shot selection to his limited creativity and lack of vision, defending against the big Russian is way less worrisome than it should be for opponents.
His shot, particularly, isn’t much of a threat, as his release is predictable and lacks significant refinement in terms of control and accuracy. After all, only 42% of Shuravins’ shots even find the net. Skill coaches can fix this limitation to some extent.
Potential
As it sits, Shuravin likely draws into an NHL lineup as a top-six defender.
Comparables
The most appropriate comparison would be that of a younger Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Defensive upside, puck skills, and skating aptitudes.
Fit with the Flames
A player like Shuravin would give the Flames a reliable shut-down defender who could slot into their third pairing of the future nicely.
Summary
Risk: 4/5
Shuravin is very much a project for whatever team selects him. The first step before even wondering about his adaptation to North American hockey would be to earn a consistent top-four role in the KHL.
Plus, the fact that he recently signed a three-year extension with CSKA Moscow as of 2023 adds even more uncertainty. Add to that the logjam of defenders that CSKA Moscow has, and it becomes even less certain that Shuravin will get consistent KHL minutes next year.
The Moscow product is currently somewhere between seventh to 10th on the defensive depth chart.
The big Russian has also been out with injuries for a significant portion of the year, only playing 38 games total for the 2023–24 season, which might raise some red flags for scouting staffs.
Reward: 3/5
Shuravin is still quite a raw prospect, and refinement of his game, more generally, will take time and patience, which is not something every team has.
Check out all of The Win Column’s individual player profiles of selected 2024 NHL Draft prospects:
Macklin Celebrini | Ivan Demidov | Artyom Levshunov | Sam Dickinson | Cayden Lindstrom | Berkly Catton | Cole Eiserman | Zeev Buium | Konsta Helenius | Zayne Parekh | Carter Yakemchuk | Anton Silayev | Tij Iginla | Adam Jiricek | Michael Brandsegg-Nygard | Liam Greentree | Igor Chernyshov | Trevor Connelly | Aron Kiviharju | Michael Hage | Ryder Ritchie | Sacha Boisvert | Nikita Artamonov | Maxim Masse | Cole Hutson | Beckett Sennecke | Dominik Badinka | Emil Hemming | Henry Mews | Terik Parascak | Alfons Freij | Charlie Elick | EJ Emery | John Mustard | Luka Misa | Tanner Howe | Lucas Pettersson | Matvei Gridin | Dean Letourneau | Leo Sahlin Wallenius | Jesse Pulkkinen | Cole Beaudoin | Kamil Bednarik | Jett Luchanko | Andrew Basha | Stian Solberg | Adam Jecho | Matvei Shuravin | Veeti Vaisanen
