Mintyukov quick study in OHL, top defenseman prospect for 2022 NHL Draft

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Pavel Mintyukov is making up for lost time in his first season with Saginaw of the Ontario Hockey League.
The 18-year-old (6-foot-2, 192 pounds), who didn't play competitive hockey in 2020-21 after the OHL canceled the season due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, ranks 10th among OHL defensemen with 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) and is tied for first with two shorthanded goals in 42 games of his first season in North America.
Born in Moscow, Mintyukov is No. 5 in
NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings of North American skaters
.
"I came to Saginaw in November (2020) and was in the weight room and on the ice," Mintyukov said. "It wasn't so hard (to adapt). It took me a couple games to understand what hockey is like [in North America]. It's more offensive hockey."

Saginaw coach Chris Lazary wasn't too surprised with how quickly Mintyukov was able to adjust to the North American style.
"That's the beauty of 'Pav,'" Lazary said. "He wants to be an NHL player and understands he has to grow through his game and he's just looking to learn. He's really a sponge for information. He loves the video, likes to practice hard and likes to compete."
Mintyukov scored three points (one goal, two assists) in 33 games with MHK Dynamo in Russia's minor hockey league in 2019-20. He had five assists in six games for first-place Russia at the 2019 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and was selected by Saginaw with the No. 52 pick in the 2020 Canadian Hockey League import draft.
"I think the OHL is tougher (than the MHL) because the players are more skillful, have more speed," Mintyukov said. "It's more offensive hockey and that's why I made the decision to come over to North America."
Mintyukov describes himself as an offensive defenseman, so it's not a surprise he's a big fan of Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks.
"[Mintyukov's] an elite skater, can do everything with his head up and is really evasive," Lazary said. "When he's under pressure he can manipulate the situation and manipulate the outcome for possession play, so his desire to want to make plays and hold pucks is good. I just think he's got that elite calmness under pressure and his skating ability, combined with that, makes him special.
"I've told him that if he wants to be the unicorn type of player who can play well offensively and defensively, he needs to close down those 1-on-1 battles and arrive angry. I think he's come a long way in that area, but he does have that flare to want to get north of the puck a little too early sometimes. We're telling him to take that little extra second to make sure everything's OK and it'll go a long way."

Mintyukov said he was glad to see his hard work rewarded as the top-ranked defenseman on Central Scouting's midterm rankings of North American skaters but knows there's more to be done.
"It surprised me a bit just because I don't think he had the fanfare as other guys, but we see him every day," Lazary said. "We have kind of been surprised that he hasn't had more fanfare. Now that the rankings have been released, there's been a lot of attention on him. But he's a special talent. I've been coaching in this league and other leagues for almost 17 years, and he's one of the better players I've ever seen come through."
PROSPECTS ON THE RADAR (listed alphabetically):
Adam Ingram, C, Youngstown (USHL):The 18-year-old (6-2, 165), No. 14 in Central Scouting's midterm ranking of North American skaters, leads all rookies in the United States Hockey League and is 11th among all players with 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 35 games. Ingram, who has scored five points (two goals, three assists) in his past five games, is committed to attend St. Cloud State University in 2022-23.
"He's got good mobility with the puck, handles the puck well with quick hands and makes good decisions on the power play," Greg Rajanen of NHL Central Scouting said. "He has good hockey IQ, is hungry around the net, and also shows some battle along the wall."
Simon Nemec, D, Nitra (SVK): The 18-year-old (6-0, 190), No. 6 in
NHL Central Scouting's midterm ranking of International skaters
, is one of two 2022 NHL Draft-eligible players representing Slovakia in the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The right-handed shot has made the most of his opportunity as the seventh defenseman with one assist while averaging 6:42 of ice time in six games. He was averaging 25:43 of ice time in two games for Slovakia at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship before the tournament was canceled Dec. 29 due to coronavirus concerns. Nemec has scored 23 points (one goal, 22 assists) in 32 games with Nitra in Slovakia's top professional men's league this season.
Juraj Slafkovsky, LW, TPS (FIN):The 17-year-old (6-4, 218), No. 2 in Central Scouting's midterm ranking of International skaters, has made quite an impression as one of the youngest players in the men's ice hockey tournament at the Beijing Olympics. He is tied with Lucas Wallmark of Sweden for the tournament lead with five goals, has 15 shots on goal and is averaging 14:43 of ice time in five games for Slovakia. Slafkovsky has scored four points (one goal, three assists) in 21 games for TPS in Liiga, the top professional men's league in Finland.
"He uses his great size, reach and strength well, inside the rules," said Goran Stubb, NHL director of European Scouting. "He's an active, effective checker both in the offensive and defensive zone, has very good on-ice vision and with his combination of size, hockey sense and puck skills, and is tough to defend."
Photo credit Eric Young, Saginaw Spirit
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