The Young Russian: Igor Bobkov

Not a name that is thrown around in North America too much but at the World Junior Championships his name did get some recognition.

The 19-year old born in Segund, Russia (Jan 2, 1991)  Igor Bobkov goaltender who Anaheim drafted in 2009 had strong play in the WJCs, against Switzerland he played a strong game despite Russia losing 3-2. 

Bobkov, who The Hockey News lists as No 8 in the Top 10 prospects for the Anaheim Ducks.  Bobkov is not eligible to play for Russia in the World Juniors in Buffalo, New York in 2011 as he has just barely aged out within the group of WJC players.

Bobkov in the game against Finland. He is No 20 in white. He made 46 saves for the shutout win against the Finns 2-0.


He plays in Russia but the Ducks should really consider trying to bring him over to North America, as a permanent stay. This would definitely help him get accustomed to North American Hockey, it'd give him experience past the small tastes he's gotten over the years of being in the WJC tournaments. He still has room to learn before he could make a trip up to the NHL but he has time. He's not even legally allowed to drink in the United States, and is just barely legal to drink in Canada. Giving Bobkov some good long experience in Northern American hockey would improve his game all around. He has the Russian style of hockey, a country who has turned players into well rounded and very good players.

As said, he had a  strong performance in the World Junior Championships, where he was a strong asset for the Russians, despite them not medaling in the World Juniors. In the WJC, Bobkov's record was 3-2-0 with a 2.45 goals against average and a  .930 save percentage. Bobkov is also a big goalie, he stands at 6-4 and currently weighs 192lbs. Bobkov tends to play on the top of his crease. He's aggressive with shoots and sometimes makes shooters shoot early and cuts off possible angles. He does have some struggles when he plays deep in his crease. Bobkov still has some room for development but as said, he's only 19 years of age.

He has a weak glove side. This is something he'll need to work on with the most this is an area where he has a lot of goals scored against him. He also needs to put on some more muscle on his frame but as he gets older; his natural muscle will start to fully develop "Fill Out"  (men don't fully develop until they're 25). Part of his development must be working on a stronger glove. His reaction is a little slower and players tend to see his weak area. They shoot top shelf and not always but a lot of the time the red light ends up flashing behind him. As a big goalie, Bobkov has learned to use his size but in a different style of hockey, such as more North American style this may come to be against him. He'll have to learn how to use such a big frame in net in North American style. This means he'll need to improve better on dropping and his lateral movement which is fairly strong currently.

Bobkov was solid in net for Russia but he still has some things to learn and improve on. Otherwise, Bobkov definitely has potential and the Ducks could definitely use him down the road assuming he'll be kept within Anaheim's system for awhile to come. As with being solid in net for Russia he has definitely given something for the Ducks scouts and staff to write about in their notes as a positive and possibly of trying to get him overseas to play and to watch him at a closer distance develop his game.

Bobkov is on the list of many good goaltenders "In the System" and he is very worthy of being looked at and brought to the NHL level even if it's just for practice much like Timo Pielemeier had the chance to come up from practice as he covered for Jonas Hiller during/after the Olympic break once the Ducks had taken the ice. As the Ducks had traded away Vesa Toskala to Calgary getting Curtis McElhinney in return. Pielmeier had the chance to attend a regular NHL Ducks game as Hiller's backup he did not play but he did get the chance to be up there with the big boys. Bobkov really does deserve a chance just like that.

(Not too sure how well Matias Modig or Sebastien Stefaniszin plays) Joey MacDonald is also a strong goalie, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and made a strong impression with the Leafs despite a team who was struggling on the ice in front of him. He still had strong games and big saves. MacDonald, an older prospect is looking for more of a solid NHL experience and one where he knows he won't have to stray off the road almost all the time.