THN Archive: No Stopping Malkin

Evgeni Malkin has been an integral piece of the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup since he broke into the league in 2006.

Before he joined the Penguins, however, he was The Hockey News' first ever unanimous top prospect.

When The Hockey News released 'Future Watch' for 2006, Malkin had not yet signed a contract, but was looking to soon make the jump to the NHL.

The Penguins were in a bad place in the standings and relying heavily on a rookie Sidney Crosby.

Not much later, Malkin would be in America, and for the Penguins, nearly two decades later, he's still one of the best around.

Jan. 31, 2006

If Evgeni Malkin had chosen to sign a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to this season, perhaps the Pens would be in serious contention for a playoff spot today rather than trolling at the bottom of the league.

Yes, that’s a lot of ground for one player to make up his own, but if any non-NHLer could do it, Malkin is the one.

How widespread is the praise Malkin’s play has inspired? Consider that NHL scouts have made the 19-year-old Russian phenom an unprecedented unanimous selection as Future Watch’s top NHL prospect. It’s the first time that has happened since The Hockey News began assessing the top 50 prospects in 1995.

Malkin’s name was listed first on all 21 ballots ranking NHL-affiliated prospects.

It’s yet another tribute for the sublime skills of the 6-foot-3, 195-pound center who has burned up the Russian Superleague this season and earned a spot on the Russian Olympic team.

With a rare combination of skill, size and speed, Malkin is sure to give Pittsburgh a second impact player to go along with Sidney Crosby when he arrives in North America for good next season when he’ll be 20.

“I think he is the top forward in the Superleague,” said former NHL coach Dave King, who is behind the bench with Malkin’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk team this season.

“He can dominate a game. Besides his offensive talent, he is an excellent penalty killer with his reach and range on the ice being great assets.”

In his first 30 league games, the second overall choice in the 2004 NHL draft (behind Alexander Ovechkin) produced 13 goals and 31 points and was leading the Superleague in scoring. He was named the league’s player of the month for October.

In mid-December, shortly before coming to Vancouver for the World Junior Championship, Malkin was named best forward at the Rosno Cup in Moscow, a four-team tournament involving national teams (minus NHLers) from Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic.

In a league game earlier this year against defending champion Moscow Dynamo, Magnitogorsk trailed 2-1 with 30 seconds to play when Malkin tied the score, despite being surrounded by four Dynamo players. He was penalized after the play, but came back to score the winning goal in overtime, leading Metallurg fans to shout, “Zhenia is the best, Zhenia is God.”

Zhenia is a Russian nickname for Evgeni.

Malkin has soft hands and is a playmaking master. No-look passes are part of his bag of tricks. His most impressive move is one in which he leaves the puck for a teammate, but accelerates in a way that makes defenders believe he still has it on his stick.

Malkin may have inherited some of his passing skills from his father Vladimir, who played center for Magnitogorsk before the club joined the Superleague. Asked what he would do with his first NHL paycheck, the younger Malkin said he would buy presents for his family.

“They helped me a lot, and it was definitely my father who brought me out to the hockey school,” he said.

Malkin is quite able to defend himself, but in case there is trouble, Metallurg defenseman Vladislav Bulin, a 1992 Philadelphia draft pick who knocked around bodies in the AHL for a couple of seasons, looks after things. The NHL’s top prospect has suffered two concussions in his short career, but both were diagnosed as minor.

He feels fortunate to be playing for King in his NHL warm-up campaign.

“Yeah, King gives me more ice time than he gives to the other players on the team,” Malkin said. “And it gives me more inspiration. I know he has faith in me. He trusts me but doesn’t put any pressure on me. I’m not afraid to make a mistake, I just don’t think about it. I just play.”

The Penguins had hoped he would leave Russia to play in the NHL this season, but he signed a deal with Magnitogorsk that didn’t include an out-clause even had the Russian Hockey Federation signed a transfer agreement with the NHL.

“I don’t regret staying at home at all,” Malkin has said. “I feel that I’m growing, maturing, gaining experience. Now, when Dave King is our coach, we play more NHL-like hockey. It’s faster.”

King agrees Malkin made a wise decision.

“He is becoming a leader as well as a better player,” King said. “He logs a great deal of ice time and our off-ice training is very demanding here in Russia so he is getting much stronger physically.”

Penguins European scout Mark Kelly has seen Malkin play this season, but the team’s chief scout Greg Malone said there isn’t a lot of vigilance necessary.

“He’s one of those guys that we don’t have to spend a lot of time watching,” he said. “It’s more important for us to find some players who can play with him.”

Malone said the only area the Pens were concerned about was Malkin getting stronger, and he’s doing that now.

“What I like is that he moves the puck when he should and he shoots when he should,” Malone said. “As talented as he is offensively, he comes back deep into his own zone to help his defense. He’s not a one-way offensive player.”

Last season, Malkin had 12 goals and 32 points in 52 games in a Superleague loaded with NHL stars during the lockout. Malkin also made his World Championship debut last spring at the age of 18, once again against NHL players, and earned a bronze medal.THN Archive is an exclusive vault of 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 stories for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until today. Visit THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com