What Does Timashov Deal Mean For Red Wings Prospect Buchelnikov?

Unless you’re an avid reader of fine print, you probably didn’t even notice that former Detroit Red Wings forward Dymtro Timashov was on the move again earlier in the week. The 27-year-old forward was traded in the KHL by SKA St. Petersburg to HC Sochi.

Well that's a new twist, Dmytro Timashov. #HockeyAtHome

(🎥: IG/ dmytrotimashov) pic.twitter.com/Nfr2ntZSRW

— NHL (@NHL) March 23, 2020

It was only recently that SKA St. Petersburg was acquiring Tymashov’s rights from Vityaz Moscow Region in exchange for Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov. Now, they’ve simply given away Tymashov just days later, which leads to a question that must be on the minds of Detroit fans.

What does this say about Buchelnikov’s potential to one day play for the Red Wings?

The 52nd player chosen in the 2022 NHL entry draft, that Buchelnikov was dealt away by SKA St. Petersburg at the age of 20 without really ever getting a chance to establish himself with the club was alarming in itself. To discover that they basically gave him away for a player they didn’t even want really sets those alarm bells to ringing.

In the summer of 2022, SKA St. Petersburg coach Roman Rotenberg was comparing Buchelnikov to New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin. Two years later, he didn’t even want Buchelnikov any longer as part of his team.

Red Wings Prospect Buchelnikov Remains Mystery Man

Buchelnikov was a 13-goal scorer in the KHL last season with Admiral, a team he was sent to on loan by SKA St. Petersburg. Does he have NHL potential? The fact of the matter is that at this stage of his development, no one can say for sure.

The Red Wings brass can’t get into Russia to see Buchelnikov play in person. And since Russia is under ban from international competition, there’s no chance to measure him agains his peers on the international stage.

Dmitri Buchelnikov(2nd round’22) welcome to Vityaz video. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/nx7XVjrllW

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) June 18, 2024

They rely on reports from Russian scout Nikolai Vakourov and what they can stream from the KHL.

“The Russian we do have, we have a scout in Russia,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said. “He’s there, he’s Russian, he knows the players, he does all of our legwork in Russia. He gets to know all the players on and off the ice.

“As a league, we’re fortunate, or I guess, in the world with the Internet now and that we can virtually get every single game. It’s not ideal, but we can get any game and watch these kids play. We can watch just their shifts. We can watch anything and specify it. So that’s very helpful.

No International Exposure

“The biggest downside to it is you obviously don’t get to see them come out of Europe. They don’t come out of Russia and play in the international tournaments. So we don’t get to see all the kids head-to-head in their same age group. That gives you a better idea. So it’s a little bit more of a projection with the Russian players because you’re not seeing them in different environments.”

Club legend Pavel Datsyuk was recently in Detroit helping at the Red Wings development camp. Datsyuk, who lives in Russia, didn’t even have the ability to offer a scouting report on Buchelnikov.

“I don’t see him much,” Datsyuk said. “My job (as a development coach with Avtomobilist of the KHL) is a little bit different. I not scout for anybody. I just follow my team. Try to focus on my job.”