Locked On Sharks
Is Alexander Barabanov a Top-6 Forward?
Kyle and JD debate if Alexander Barabanov is a true top-six forward. We start by discussing his role on the San Jose Sharks and who he was playing with, then why he was traded by Toronto (5:00). We then dissect his KHL statistics and how those should adjust to the NHL (9:30), what his future role should look like (15:00), and if he will be on the San Jose Sharks during the 2022-23 season (18:00). Plus we explain how you can win an awesome prize just for leaving a review (20:00)!
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Barabanov and the other new guys were breaths of fresh air in an otherwise dismal season. I hope that they continue to make strides and that the veterans get their acts together come fall.
Elevated status due to lack of depth on SJS, he’ll probably end up having long dry spells, and settle in on being a decent middle 6 winger and PP2 contributor.
Sharks would be thrilled with that!
What was his usage in his KHL lineup compared to with the Sharks? Was that taken into account?
Good question, but unfortunately we don’t have access to his ice time and his linemates in the KHL. Also, SKA St. Petersburg is one of those teams that is always stacked, so it’s hard to gauge his impact.
he was playing 20 minutes/25 shifts a game in 2020 for his KHL team (SKA Petersburg) during their playoffs. he was averaging 15:41 TOI/G during the regular season. that’s roughly the same TOI/G for his last 3 seasons in the KHL, so no real advancement in his usage over 3 seasons. that’s not a good look.
stats from: https://en.khl.ru/players/17210/
Great post, David! Thanks for looking it up. Certainly his KHL usage and production (except 18-19) suggests don’t expect him to keep up same production next year
I think Barabanov will be well worth the $1M. Is he a legit top-six forward? I doubt it, but we’ve seen him play up the lineup and make an impact in a small sample size, and I think that’s all you can ask for in a $1M, middle-six guy.
Yeah, even if he’s more of a middle-six guy (same with Balcers), those guys are really valuable, especially if they’re capable of stepping into the top-six fairly seamlessly if an injury comes up. Now, the problem for the Sharks is whether their top six is good enough not including these guys, and that’s probably not the case, but with these guys now and adding a good 3C and a goalie who can keep them in games might mean a more competitive (as in maybe keeping close to a wild card playoff spot) team than we’d initially expect.
A couple more Balcers/Barabanov types (youngish/cheap/can be legit fill-ins in middle-six) would go a long way toward giving Sharks necessary depth to really compete up front. Looking at SOMEBODY from the Sharks system (Blichfeld, Gregor, Chmelevski) to step up as a legit middle-six option. Hasn’t happened yet, even Gambrell really belongs on fourth line
he’s a great 4th liner and decent-ish 3rd liner in scoring rates.
He’s been arguably Russia’s most noticeable forward at the World Championships which is great to see.
no, not KL range. KL has an NHL career points pace is 0.51 and Barabanov’s projected is more like 0.41. Barabanov is in the 3rd line F points production pace.
[…] Kyle and JD debate if Alexander Barabanov is a true top-six forward. We start by discussing his role on the San Jose Sharks and who he was playing with, then why he was traded by Toronto (5:00). We then dissect his KHL statistics and how those should adjust to the NHL (9:30), what his future role should look like (15:00), and if he will be on the San Jose Sharks during the 2022-23 season (18:00). Plus we explain how you can win an awesome prize just for leaving a review (20:00)! (San Jose Hockey Now) […]
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