Every draft you are always looking for that one player who can be a real steal, that mid to late round gem that every other team missed. The Jackets found that in 2015 with Markus Nuutivarra, they appear to have found it again in 2016 with Vitali Abramov and could have it once again in 2017 with the selection of Daniil Tarasov.
Tarasov is a goaltending prospect who missed all of last season with a leg injury. Prior to the season he was considered one of the top goalies in this draft, which is high praise considering this draft saw a goalie go in the first round. Tarasov ended up going in the third round as the sixth goalie taken, and has the potential to be a very valuable prospect in the Blue Jackets system.
When Tarasov last saw the ice in 2015-16, as a 16 year old he was very good. He played in 20 games in Russia’s Under 17 league and put up an extremely impressive .946 save percentage. He also got a taste in the MHL, Russia’s junior league, and he had an average .918 save percentage, which for a 16 yr old is fine. He played in two MHL playoff games and was very good with a .933 save percentage.
What really put Tarasov on the map in scouting circles and what vaulted him up draft boards was his performance at the 2016 U18 World Championship in Grand Forks. Tarasov, playing for the Under-17 Russian National team wasn’t even supposed to be at that tournament, as Russia would normally send their national Under-18 team. That U-18 team had to withdraw from the tournament as some players had tested positive for meldonium. The entire team was replaced with the U17 team, and added Mikhail Sergachev from the CHL.
Considering the circumstances, not much was expected from this young Russian team. This tournament is dominated by 17 year olds, many of which end up as high first round picks that summer. Russia ended up performing much better than expected, and a big part of why was the play of Tarasov. In five games Tarasov posted a .921 save percentage which was third in the tournament behind the two American goalies Joseph Woll and Jake Oettinger (the lone goalie taken in the first round this year). Tarasov was busy in net with Russia allowing on average 32 shots per game. Despite everything working against them Russia was still able to make it to the quarter-finals, where they put a scare into Finland, the eventual gold medalist.
Tarasov played well in that game despite an .875 save percentage. He made some key saves early, especially on the power play and kept a young Russian squad from falling behind right out of the gate. Scouting goalies is very difficult but in watching those highlights, you can see Tarasov is very athletic. He seems to do well when the play is on top of him, doesn’t panic and finds the puck. He’s very big, standing 6’4, but moves well in the crease and has strong lateral movement.
Tarasov is not without his faults. In the video above, all the goals Finland scores are from a long way out. Tarasov had a tough time with hard shots through traffic and seemed to get beat up high. This is what makes scouting goalies so difficult they can look spectacular times and lost at other times all in one game.
The concern going forward with Tarasov is how is going to play after missing an entire season. Leg injuries are never good, but especially not for goalies. The Blue Jackets saw firsthand what a groin injury did to de-rail Sergei Bobrovsky’s season. Tarasov has recovered from the injury but you never know how that might affect his game going forward and if he can get back to the level of play that made him so highly touted as a 16 yr old. He missed a big development year, and starts off behind other prospects his age. This is going to be a very very important season for him to show that he is fully recovered and is ready to take a big step forward.
It’s only been a couple pre-season games but so far Tarasov looks like he hasn’t missed a beat.
Daniil Tarasov has the potential to be one of the best goalies to come out of this draft. He was highly regarded as a 16 year old, but suffered a serious leg injury and missed his entire 17 year old season. He was out of sight out of mind for a lot of scouts this year and the Jackets were able to get him in the third round. He’s a big athletic goalie, who will be out to show he recovered from that injury. The Jackets have done well drafting and developing goalies in the past and Tarasov looks to be the next one.
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • 
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