The Ghost of John Muckler

Since John Muckler was fired from the Senators organization in the summer of 2007, it’s taken some time before we could finally say as fans that Bryan Murray had finally put his stamp on the team.

As easy as it’s been to dump on Johnny Mucks for drafting poorly – going against convention to draft a high proportion of Russian players in light of the possibility and emergence of the KHL – and frivolously mortgaging the future with reckless abandon, I’ll give credit where it’s due. For all of the praise that’s been bestowed to the current regime’s drafting and for the failures of prospects like Nikulin and Zubov, we’ve actually witnessed somewhat of a Muckler draft pick renaissance over the past two seasons. Albeit, the impacts of players like Regin, Greening, Elliott, Wick and Condra has been modest but at least it looks like each, with the exception of Elliott, will be contributors at the NHL-level.

Looking at this year’s development camp guide, another forgotten about Muckler draft pick has come across the pond to test his mettle.

Kirill Lyamin, a second round pick in 2004 (58th overall), is a 25 year old Russian defenceman who has spent the past seven seasons plying his trade in mother Russia. Looking around the Interwebs, there hasn’t been much written about Lyamin since his 2004 draft year but here’s what I could find: 

From the Senators development camp guide:

2011-12: Attending his first Senators development camp. 2010-11: Matched Kontinental Hockey League career highs in goals, assists and points while playing 48 games in his first season with Cherepovets Severstal … Registered team-high and KHL career best plus/minus rating (+9) … Ranked first among team defencemen and second (tie) among all players in post-season points … Recorded the first playoff goal of his KHL career in an eventual 3-2 overtime loss to Atlant Mytischi on Feb. 23. 2009-10: Completed his second season with Moscow Spartak of the KHL registering new career highs in goals, assists and points … Ranked second among Spartak defencemen in goals … Appeared in nine of 10 post-season contests helping Spartak to the KHL semi-finals . 2008-09: Made his KHL debut with Spartak in a 6-5 overtime win at Atlant Mytischi on 9/2/08 … Recorded his first KHL point (an assist) in a 6-5 shootout win at CSKA Moscow on 9/12/08. Career: Appeared in each of Team Russia’s six games at the 2006 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Vancouver, earning a silver medal.

From Kyle Woodlief of the Red Line Report:

Lyamin, on the other hand, came on strong down the stretch and exhibits a nice mix of snarling, edgy aggression at the defensive end and a wicked one-timer and improving instincts at the offensive end.

And from Hockey’s Future:

Kirill Lyamin was expected to be a late first round or early second round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft, however, he was not selected until the latter stages of the second round when Ottawa picked him 58th overall.  This was due to a rib cage injury he suffered in his draft year that caused him to miss significant time.

[…]

Lyamin was hailed as one of the strongest players in the draft, which bodes well for his hard hitting game. He has demonstrated a very aggressive side, something which isn’t overly common among Russian defensemen, and has played a consistent defensive game in the Russian Superleague. Lyamin is a smooth skater with good acceleration and lateral movement.  He possesses a heavy shot, but he needs to shoot more.  He rarely uses his wrist shot, preferring to fire hard slapshots from the point. 

Lyamin’s 6’2 frame gives him excellent reach and he is an excellent puck handler who carries the puck with confidence.  Lyamin sometimes buckles with his stickhandling when pressured, something that needs to improve before making it to the NHL.  Lyamin transitions the puck very well and makes precise first passes out of the zone.  Overall, Lyamin has excellent passing abilities and can create scoring opportunities with his above average vision.  Lyamin is a solid overall package that is end loaded a bit on the defensive side of the game.

Without getting too ahead of myself, Lyamin signed a 2-year contract extension with Avangard Omsk of the KHL in May. So I’m entirely sure why an older player like Lyamin would attend the Senators development camp unless he had aspirations of playing in North America. I’m not even sure whether Lyamin, like Zibanejad, has an out clause in his contract that would allow for him to play in the NHL. Regardless, he has shown a willingness

Here is a look at his recent numbers:

Update From Steve Lloyd:

In response to my Twitter query, ‘Over the next week, can you get the scuttlebutt on Lyamin’s inclusion at dev. camp? Is he a candidate to come to N. America?’

Steve tweeted (@Steve_Lloyd), Doubtful. Was told his agent asked if his client could come. Same with Bashkirov last summer. Don’t expect anything to come of it.