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Vitaly Abramov: The gem of the Blue Jackets prospect system

February 24, 2017, 12:59 PM ET [2 Comments]
Paul Berthelot
Columbus Blue Jackets Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Between the success of the Blue Jackets this season, the struggles of Pierre-Luc Dubois and the surprise of Calvin Thurkauf, it seems as if Vitaly Abramov has flown somewhat under the radar. Abramov has been amazing this season and with the graduation of Zach Werenski and the expected graduation of Oliver Bjorkstrand, Abramov should end the year as the Blue Jackets second best prospect behind Dubois.

Abramov has been great all season but has particularly been good this month where he's been averaging over two points per game.




He has one more game in February so he could potentially improve upon his great month. Looking at his overall stat line of 89 points in 57 games, it’s hard to believe he hasn’t received the attention of some of the other Blue Jackets prospects. This is the second highest scorer in the QMJHL we are talking about here. Not making Russia’s World Junior team really robbed Abramov of the attention he deserves.

He’s the second leading scorer in the QMJHL as mentioned, but what’s most impressive here is how he's scoring his points. His 89 points are split very evenly with 43 goals and 46 assists. He not out there just racking up 80 assists, he can put the puck in the net. His 43 goals are second in the league, and with nine games remaining he has a shot at 50.

Of the three CHL leagues the QMJHL is regarded as the easier league and it is not uncommon to see players put up gaudy totals like this and then never amount to anything at the next level. How do we know this won’t be the case with Abramov? What we do know from past research that players who score a ton of primary points and a ton at even strength are better bets to succeed than those who don’t. As well players that are consistently able to get into high scoring areas also tend to have a higher success rate.

Abramov does all of these things extremely well. According to Prospect-Stats.com Abramov leads the QMJHL with 75 primary points, and ranks third in the CHL behind Alex DeBrincat from the OHL and Adam Brooks in the WHL. At 5 on 5 Abramov has been equally successful. He again leads the ‘Q’ with 60 points, 56 of which are primary. When you compare that to the rest of the CHL Abramov stacks up very nicely.




That great chart was done last week, but the point remains. This list is loaded with top NHL prospects as well as top prospects for the 2017 draft, and Abramov not only is holding his own he’s right near the top. This is a player who can create offense on his own and does not need the power play to do so. He's the total package in the offensive zone. He has speed, he has the shot, he has the smarts, he has the passing ability and of course he has the hands.



Those last two goals really put his hands on display. On the second goal he's right on top of the goalie and is still able to get it around him. That third goal is just incredible; he displays great patience and a couple great fakes before ripping it.

All three of those goals show how well Abramov is able to get to the high scoring areas of the ice. He leads the QMJHL with 46 high danger shots as defined by Prospect-Stats, and believe it or not he's actually converting on a low percentage of those shots relative to his peers. His shooting percentage on HD shots is 23.91%, not much higher than the 20.5% he shoots on all shots. Among players with at least 20 HD shots, Abramov’s 23.91 SH% ranks 26th. He could easily have a couple more goals on the season; this bodes very well for his future success.

Abramov has also been a beast when it comes to getting dangerous shots as defined by the QMJHL’s website. He has 164 dangerous shots which is second in the QMJHL and averages 2.88 a game. That is right on par with what he did last season where he had 171 dangerous shots and 2.71 per game.

The knock on Abramov is always going to be his 5’9 frame. He doesn’t have the prototypical size NHL teams want. The Blue Jackets put a great deal of value on size, but they need to look no further than their active roster and the success of Cam Atkinson to know that a smaller player can play and be successful in the NHL. Abramov has the tools to be a great NHL player, and he uses those tools to get himself into the slot. His future is bright and it’s about time he gets the attention he deserves.

You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot
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