Zhilkin watches Kucherov of Lightning closely ahead of 2022 NHL Draft

The 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held July 7-8 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round will be July 7 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are July 8 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at forward Danil Zhilkin of Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Danil Zhilkin
has approached hockey with the mindset of reaching the NHL almost since the time he and his family moved to Canada.
It's how he practices, how he plays, how he works out off the ice. Even how he treats his sticks.
"I love them to be perfect," he said. "They all have to be the same on the bench. And if there's something that's not the same, you've got to change it and fix it so it's all perfect. … And I'm going to continue being careful with my stick. That's how you score goals, with your stick."
Zhilkin said he's changed his pregame stick-care routine a bit as he's gotten older.
"I used to spray paint it white," he said. "Not so much now. I switched to black tape and I just roll with that. It's just seven stripes on the blade with regular tape and seven on the top, make the knob a little bigger for my pinkie. Other than that, just sand the blade down a little bit before I tape it. Other than that, nothing crazy."
Teammates have noticed Zhilkin's routine, but few go to his level of extreme.
"He treats his sticks very nicely," forward Matthew Poitras said. "He always says the way you treat your stick is the way your stick will treat you. He's always sandpapering it down, getting some candle wax on it, puts some grip on it. Kind of weird like that."
Zhilkin's care for his sticks helped him finish second on Guelph with 55 points (23 goals, 32 assists) in 65 games, and he's No. 35 in
NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters
for the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft.
"To me Danny has got the whole package," Joey Tenute of Central Scouting said. "He's got the size (6-foot-1, 196 pounds), he's got the skill, he's got the intelligence. He's got a power/speed style to his game where he can really come at you and back you up on your heels. And his IQ is very good in the offensive zone in terms of it doesn't take a lot for him to make things happen really quickly."
Zhilkin was born in Moscow and began playing at an early age. But a Roger Neilson Hockey camp in Aurora, Ontario changed his family's course.
"I was actually 9 years old," he said. "I was here for a camp for two weeks and a coach saw me and just asked me to play the following fall. So, we went back, grabbed our stuff and moved here, just like that."
Zhilkin developed in Toronto-area leagues and was selected by Guelph with the No. 14 pick of the 2019 OHL draft. He had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 60 games in 2019-20 but didn't play last season when the OHL canceled its 2020-21 season due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.
His only games were with Canada at the 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. He was Canada's third-youngest forward (after top 2022 draft prospect Shane Wright and 2023 NHL Draft prospect Connor Bedard), and had two assists in seven games to help Canada win the tournament.
"I accepted a depth role on the team," Zhilkin said. "Kind of [moved] up and down the lineup. I played the Canadian way and did what the coaches wanted me to do. It was an unbelievable experience."

Guelph coach George Burnett saw how Zhilkin benefited from that experience on and off the ice.
"He played on every line, he played, he didn't play," Burnett said. "It was the first time in his young career where he was accepting a limited role and that's all part of development and understanding what it takes to play in a short-term event like that. I think it was helpful. I know he was a good teammate and that's most important from all the indications and reports and feedback I've received from people around the team and the tournament. That's a pretty clear picture of a young man's character and his willingness to accept a role."
He built on the U-18s and earned a top-line role with Guelph this season, but also found himself shifted to defenseman for a game against Kitchener in March.
Burnett said Zhilkin played better than he expected but the position change was a one-time affair.
"I've done it in the past, where you take maybe your most talented puck carrier and skater and put him in that type of situation," Burnett said. "He handled himself quite well. Just his ability to carry the puck, to get it up the ice and to get back. He's such a tremendous skater. It was a shot in the dark and we were very excited and happy with how he played. I just didn't feel we could do it long term."
The long-term plan for Zhilkin is to remain a forward, and Burnett said part of the focus is making sure Zhilkin understands how many ways he can affect a game.
"We're trying to convince him that even if you're not scoring there are other ways to contribute, whether you're winning face-offs or blocking shots or killing penalties or checking," he said. "You don't see that on the score sheet all the time but I think it's a very important part of the development process. He took some huge strides in understanding that but also doing it."
Zhilkin said he understands there needs to be growth in his game, and it's one reason he watches Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov so closely.
"He can do it all so well," Zhilkin said. "He's got such a great shot and his vision. I was actually lucky enough to be at Game 5 in the Stanley Cup Final in 2021] when they won. It's an unbelievable experience to watch those guys live and it's great."
This summer Zhilkin will be skating with other pros, among them Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid. He played defenseman against McDavid during a summer skate last year and saw first-hand the speed and power it takes to play at the next level. Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse and forward Zach Hyman also were part of the game.
Zhilkin watched how McDavid went full speed through every shift and every drill. And also how he took care of his equipment.
"I've had the pleasure of skating with them a couple of times last summer and I think this summer I'll be with them as well," Zhilkin said. "I think just following those guys and seeing what they do every single day and how everything's clean and perfect in their equipment. That's part of being a pro."
Photos: Gar Fitzgerald
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