Igor Larionov Sees Big Future For Canadiens Prospect Bogdan Konyushkov
August 13, 2024
Igor Larionov Sees Big Future For Canadiens Prospect Bogdan Konyushkov
5 comments
The situation with Bogdan is kinda perfect. Our blue line is totally packed right now. He’d have to battle like 5 other guys for ice time. Instead, he’ll be playing like 25 mins a game on the top pairing of a KHL team.
This gives him the best chance to develop into a solid defender. And if he’s good enough, he’ll be able to come to North America when he’s 24, which will hopefully be at the start of our contending window.
By the age of 21, Matthias Norrlinder had extensive professional hockey experience. He had already spent two seasons in the KHL and established himself as one of the most promising Russian defensemen. He played 65 games for Torpedo and scored 28 points (6 goals and 22 assists) last season. Hockey legend Igor Larionov, the head coach of Torpedo, also promoted him to team captain.
“I can’t call myself a purely attacking defenseman,” Matthais says about himself in an interview with RG.org. “I can play defense. Yes, I can’t do everything defending, but I’m learning. I am a versatile defenseman. I have a role in starting an attack and preventing the opponent’s attacks.
I can still play on the powerplay and support the attack. But in the Torpedo, all the guys can do this. I’m grateful to the coaching staff and personally to Igor Larionov for not forbidding us from being creative and jumping offensively all the time. On the contrary, they encourage us to do it. Thanks to this, we, I mean our defensemen, are becoming two-way forwards.”
Torpedo has been coached by Igor Larionov, a three-time Stanley Cup winner and a Detroit Red Wings legend, since 2022. He was the one who discovered Norrlinder and allowed him to play 20 minutes a game in the KHL when he was only 20 years old.
“In the Torpedo, Norrlinder is the top defenseman in the offensive zone. I see a lot of potential in him. He could be the player who leads the entire line on the powerplay. This is an important position on the blue line, as he, like a quarterback, understands the game of his entire five and makes smart decisions that lead to goals. That is his potential. And then there is room for improvement. We want him to improve his shooting skills and shoot more as he knows how to find a shooting lane,” says Larionov.
Canadiens trust Larionov The Montreal Canadiens selected Norrlinder in the fourth round as the 110th overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft. He was drafted in the late rounds mostly because of his small size (6’0″, 172 lbs).
“We don’t communicate with Montreal very often. I spoke with the Russian scout after the season once, we just chatted, and they asked me how my season went. This year, I didn’t even consider attending a development camp, as I was recovering from surgery, and all my energy and focus were directed toward that. If all goes well next year, I would be happy to attend a development camp.”
Norrlinder acknowledged that he had not received any guidance from Montreal’s representatives.
“I was not drafted very high, and I still have two years left on my contract, so it’s more profitable for the club to focus on players already part of the system. When I spoke to the scout, he said, ‘You’re in good hands of Igor Larionov, he won’t tell you to do anything unnecessary or wrong.’ I think that’s why the team feels comfortable with me, and there’s no constant communication between us.”
Larionov sees big potential in Norrlinder as an NHL player.
“I see, in my opinion, is becoming a solid and reliable player. I don’t want to get ahead by praising him too much,” Larionov says. “We often expect progress from young players, but sometimes life throws them back. Matthais is a serious young man, and I believe in his potential to reach the level of players like Mikhail Sergachev, Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, Kirill Kaprizov, Alex Ovechkin, or Evgeni Malkin, as he dreams of it. I know he has the skills and intelligence to be a valuable player for the Montreal team in the future.”
We are thin at RHD and don’t have a deep pool. It might be worth bringing him over in 25/26 to see how he does in Laval rather than wait until he is 24.
If he can keep providing offence while not getting bogdan in the defensive zone he should be able to craft out a decent NHL career.
Man’s better make the lineup with a name like that.
5 comments
The situation with Bogdan is kinda perfect. Our blue line is totally packed right now. He’d have to battle like 5 other guys for ice time. Instead, he’ll be playing like 25 mins a game on the top pairing of a KHL team.
This gives him the best chance to develop into a solid defender. And if he’s good enough, he’ll be able to come to North America when he’s 24, which will hopefully be at the start of our contending window.
By the age of 21, Matthias Norrlinder had extensive professional hockey experience. He had already spent two seasons in the KHL and established himself as one of the most promising Russian defensemen. He played 65 games for Torpedo and scored 28 points (6 goals and 22 assists) last season. Hockey legend Igor Larionov, the head coach of Torpedo, also promoted him to team captain.
“I can’t call myself a purely attacking defenseman,” Matthais says about himself in an interview with RG.org. “I can play defense. Yes, I can’t do everything defending, but I’m learning. I am a versatile defenseman. I have a role in starting an attack and preventing the opponent’s attacks.
I can still play on the powerplay and support the attack. But in the Torpedo, all the guys can do this. I’m grateful to the coaching staff and personally to Igor Larionov for not forbidding us from being creative and jumping offensively all the time. On the contrary, they encourage us to do it. Thanks to this, we, I mean our defensemen, are becoming two-way forwards.”
Torpedo has been coached by Igor Larionov, a three-time Stanley Cup winner and a Detroit Red Wings legend, since 2022. He was the one who discovered Norrlinder and allowed him to play 20 minutes a game in the KHL when he was only 20 years old.
“In the Torpedo, Norrlinder is the top defenseman in the offensive zone. I see a lot of potential in him. He could be the player who leads the entire line on the powerplay. This is an important position on the blue line, as he, like a quarterback, understands the game of his entire five and makes smart decisions that lead to goals. That is his potential. And then there is room for improvement. We want him to improve his shooting skills and shoot more as he knows how to find a shooting lane,” says Larionov.
Canadiens trust Larionov The Montreal Canadiens selected Norrlinder in the fourth round as the 110th overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft. He was drafted in the late rounds mostly because of his small size (6’0″, 172 lbs).
“We don’t communicate with Montreal very often. I spoke with the Russian scout after the season once, we just chatted, and they asked me how my season went. This year, I didn’t even consider attending a development camp, as I was recovering from surgery, and all my energy and focus were directed toward that. If all goes well next year, I would be happy to attend a development camp.”
Norrlinder acknowledged that he had not received any guidance from Montreal’s representatives.
“I was not drafted very high, and I still have two years left on my contract, so it’s more profitable for the club to focus on players already part of the system. When I spoke to the scout, he said, ‘You’re in good hands of Igor Larionov, he won’t tell you to do anything unnecessary or wrong.’ I think that’s why the team feels comfortable with me, and there’s no constant communication between us.”
Larionov sees big potential in Norrlinder as an NHL player.
“I see, in my opinion, is becoming a solid and reliable player. I don’t want to get ahead by praising him too much,” Larionov says. “We often expect progress from young players, but sometimes life throws them back. Matthais is a serious young man, and I believe in his potential to reach the level of players like Mikhail Sergachev, Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, Kirill Kaprizov, Alex Ovechkin, or Evgeni Malkin, as he dreams of it. I know he has the skills and intelligence to be a valuable player for the Montreal team in the future.”
We are thin at RHD and don’t have a deep pool. It might be worth bringing him over in 25/26 to see how he does in Laval rather than wait until he is 24.
If he can keep providing offence while not getting bogdan in the defensive zone he should be able to craft out a decent NHL career.
Man’s better make the lineup with a name like that.