Not every single player is one we hope falls based on the rankings – sometimes it’s worth going on a limb and advertising a very skilled youngster. With one pick in the first 154, the Calgary Flames could find a real offensive gem on the back-end if they look at Artyom Duda.
Scouting Report
Anytime a player can set records at his position in a league it’s going to get him noticed. Duda did just that in the MHL, tearing up the junior level Russian competition. He’s not undersized by any measure at 6’1” and brings great mobility.
What’s the downside? Well, his defensive game isn’t exactly the most well rounded. He’s pretty much all offence when he’s on the ice and is going to need some solid coaching to get some defence into his game.
All offence at the pro level doesn’t immediately mean Cale Makar, but Torey Krug is more along the lines of what a well-coached Duda could turn into.
Here is what Chris Peters from Daily Faceoff has to say on Duda:
In 52 games this season, Duda scored more goals and had more points than any U18 defenseman in the history of the MHL. He has good mobility and is smart about when he jumps into plays, defends adequately and has good-enough size. He was dominant this season and having seen him live at the 2021 U18 World Championship, I was impressed with his overall game.
And here is what Scott Wheeler from The Athletic had to say on him:
Duda will be an interesting study moving forward because we don’t often see defenders who get almost no time above the junior level in their draft year progress into NHLers, but he was also one of the junior level MHL’s more prolific defencemen this season as a 17-year-old for most of it. I’ll start to be concerned about his path next year if the opportunities still don’t come, but he’s got game regardless and he’s a part of a huge program so sometimes the promotions just come a little slower.
Certainly a polarizing player with an interesting ceiling. One wonders if all the offence is worth the risk.
The numbers
The goals and points Chris was talking about? 14 goals – 27 assists – 41 points in 52 games. Follow that up with 17 points in 18 playoff games.
For any upcoming international competitions Duda would have to be considered – especially as a powerplay quarterback. Whether Russia is allowed to participate in any of them will be the bigger question mark though.
As for an NHLe comparison we once again go to Byron Bader at HockeyProspecting.com
Availability and fit
Who couldn’t use a super high end offensive driving weapon from the back-end. If you believe in your development staff to work their magic then Duda should be a slam dunk second round pick. Teams that don’t have a propensity for developing D may not want to take that flier – but the Flames have found some success in recent years.
Rasmus Andersson and Oliver Kylington both came through the AHL system – Connor Mackey looks to be close to being an everyday NHL 6/7 defenceman. Kuznetsov and Jeremie Poirier will be the next test and underrated and hardly mentioned Ilya Solovyov has been progressing nicely. Adding Duda could be another nice risk – but with Poirier already there with a similar player profile the Flames may go in another direction.
In my own opinion I would look at some other defenceman, but if Duda were to be taken I would not scoff – I would recognize the opportunity for elite play and work towards developing the new asset.
More must-reads: