Anaheim Ducks Select Artyom Galimov 129th Overall

The Anaheim Ducks have selected Artyom Galimov with the 129th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

The 5’11” 176 pound Russian center put up 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 55 games last year in the KHL with AK Bars Kazan. He already has 3 goals and 4 assists this season for 7 points in 12 game. He was named the best newcomer of the year for KHL the 19/20 season.

An important thing to note is this was his fourth draft eligible season, meaning is draft, his draft+1, and draft+2 seasons were not good enough to get him drafted. For the Ducks, they must hope that he had been passed over through oversight and now they are able to reap the rewards of that. On that note last season was the first season in the KHL for Galimov, with his prior seasons being in the MHL and VHL.

Galimov is a smaller center that made an impression this past season, playing in a third line role on a talented team in probably the second-best league in the world. He seems to think the game at a high level and knew exactly where he wanted to move the puck to once the puck ended up on his stick. He does have some high end skill that he shows in flashes.

The downside to his game is he can get lost in his own zone and turns over the puck a bit much. He also can get overwhelmed when pressured.

This is a complete upside play, with very little risk due to it being a 5th round pick. Also of note, Galimov is the first Russian skater selected by the Ducks in the NHL entry draft since the 2001 draft, when the Ducks took Stanislov Chistov in the first round and Vladimir Korsunov in the 4th round.