Best on Best 2023: Projecting Russia’s roster
Welcome to Part 5 of Best on Best 2023, a series in which we dream up hypothetical international lineups if NHLers were called to play a tournament right now. We’ve broken down our Canada, USA, Finland and Sweden rosters so far. Next up? After agonizing over whether to include this entry, we’ve decided to map out a hypothetical Team Russia. It could still be years before the nation is cleared for any international competition because of its invasion of Ukraine. But for the sake of understanding how every other nation stacks up in a true best-on-best event, it would feel strange not to include Russia.
First, a rule refresher for the exercise:
– Roster structure follows IIHF format for the Olympics and World Championship: 14 forwards, eight defensemen, three goaltenders, 25 players in total.
– Since we can’t say for certain when the next best-on-best event will happen, be it 2025 for a World Cup, 2026 for the Cortina Olympics or a later date, we are constructing rosters for today. As in, right now. Opening faceoff.
FORWARDS – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Alex Ovechkin | Evgeny Kuznetsov | Nikita Kucherov |
| Artemi Panarin | Evgeni Malkin | Kirill Kaprizov |
| Andrei Kuzmenko | Pavel Buchnevich | Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Valeri Nichushkin | Ivan Barbashev | Andrei Svechnikov |
| Nikita Gusev | Matvei Michkov |
The talent is, not surprisingly, off the charts here, but the actual line combinations are extremely awkward. The Russians have a serious dearth of center depth at the moment, forcing me to play Pavel Buchnevich and Ivan Barbashev up the middle when they’re both more effective as wingers. Evgeny Kuznetsov’s recent play doesn’t really warrant a No. 1 gig, but I want to utilize his shorthand with longtime Washington Capitals teammate Alex Ovechkin. By moving Kirill Kaprizov to his off wing to keep him in the top six, I have two first lines, more or less.
Biggest flex: I had to take a swing on the upside of Matvei Michkov, just as I did with Connor Bedard for my Canada entry. Also, it felt strange burying Andrei Svechnikov on the fourth line. But his physical game fits better than Vladimir Tarasenko’s on my shutdown trio alongside Valeri Nichushkin and Barbashev. I envision that unit playing as many minutes as my third line.
Toughest cut: I wouldn’t say one particular name was agonizing to cut. But since Russia hasn’t participated in international events for the past couple years, we have no evidence to draw from when speculating whether any non-NHLers would make the big club, which makes lineup projection difficult. Typically, World Championship rosters, for instance, can give you a hint of whether a nation is consistently loyal to certain non-NHLers. Nikita Gusev has often been a staple, so I have him as one of my bench forwards despite the fact Ilya Mikheyev brings a more versatile game.
Also considered: Ilya Mikheyev, Evgenii Dadonov, Kirill Marchenko, Nikolai Kovalenko, Alexander Barabanov, Klim Kostin
FORWARDS – Steven Ellis’ picks
| Alex Ovechkin | Evgeny Kuznetsov | Kirill Kaprizov |
| Artemi Panarin | Evgeni Malkin | Nikita Kucherov |
| Andrei Kuzmenko | Pavel Buchnevich | Andrei Svechnikov |
| Valeri Nichushkin | Ivan Barbashev | Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Nikita Gusev | Alexander Radulov |
Russia’s offense has always been a position of strength, and that won’t change here. While many of the core players are in the latter stages of their careers, they still have some good hockey to offer. The next wave of star Russian scoring talent is still in development, so this definitely isn’t one of the younger cores. Still, this isn’t a weakness by any stretch.
Biggest flex: As much as I love Michkov’s game, there’s no way I’m putting him this team. Sorry, Matt. He’s great for his age, but there are many, many players that are ready to step up right now. So cutting him was my biggest flex.
Toughest cut: I don’t think there was anyone that felt too difficult to cut. Ilya Mikheyev is a versatile forward that could do any role you ask of him. But I’d rather utilize creativity, and that’s where Gusev comes in. I had a harder time justifying Gusev’s position than anything, but he has a thing for making players around him better. Take away the responsibility of playing in a top six role and I think he’s fine.
Also considered: Ilya Mikheyev, Vladimir Tkachyov, Sergei Tolchinsky, Evgenii Dadonov, Klim Kostin
DEFENSEMEN – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Mikhail Sergachev | Ivan Provorov |
| Dmitry Orlov | Alexander Romanov |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Artem Zub |
| Nikita Zadorov | Ilya Lyubushkin |
The Russians’ obvious deficiency compared to the rest of its stacked roster comes on the blueline. It’s thin. My top two pairs will have to play a lot of minutes – especially the No. 1 duo of Mikhail Sergachev and Ivan Provorov, which shoehorns the latter onto his off side. This group won’t hurt for physicality by any means, though. Lots of size and snarl.
Biggest flex: Artem Zub is relatively inexperienced compared to longtime NHL veterans Nikita Zadorov and Ilya Lyubushkin. But he has held his own as an underrated shutdown blueliner with the Ottawa Senators and I prefer his upside to that of Zadorov and Lyubushkin.
Toughest cut: I’m intrigued by Carolina Hurricanes prospect Alexander Nikishin, who has been pretty dominant in the KHL. But I’ve seen so little of him up close that it felt like too much of a forced hipster pick, so I left him off my roster.
Also considered: Dmitry Kulikov, Alexander Nikishin, Nikita Zaitsev, Alexander Alexeyev
DEFENSEMEN – Steven Ellis’ picks
| Mikhail Sergachev | Ivan Provorov |
| Dmitry Orlov | Alexander Romanov |
| Alexander Nikishin | Artem Zub |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | Ilya Lyubushkin |
Now this, this is a weakness. For whatever reason, the Russians have struggled to develop high-quality defensemen on a consistent basis. Like, seriously, never in my lifetime has Russia had a top-five defensive unit internationally.
Biggest flex: Alexander Nikishin looks like the real deal. He’s still refining his game, but last year was pure dominance from the point. I hope to see more of that, and I fully believe he’d be able to play a big role with the Hurricanes if he didn’t have a KHL contract right now. Those pesky (but valuable) transfer regulations get in the way once again.
Toughest cut: Again, no real difficult cuts here. Nikita Zadorov’s NHL experience would have been nice, but give me the pure talent of Nikishin over the physicality of Zadorov any day. Plus, Nikishin is 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds – it’s not like he’s lacking anything there.
Also considered: Nikita Zadorov, Dmitry Kulikov
GOALTENDERS – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Andrei Vasilevskiy |
| Ilya Sorokin |
| Igor Shesterkin |
Biggest flex: None. Even though Sorokin and Shesterkin are arguably better goaltenders than Vasilevskiy right now, ‘Vasy’ is still the No. 1 “you have to win one game today” puck-stopper of his generation, so he’s my best-on-best starter. My hook will be quick, however, given the all-world 1B and 1C options at my disposal.
Toughest cut: None. These three netminders exist in their own tier and had my three spots locked up instantly.
Also considered: Literally no one. Not Alexandar Georgiev, not Ilya Samsonov, not Sergei Bobrovsky. My top three were untouchable.
GOALTENDERS – Steven Ellis’ picks
| Andrei Vasilevskiy |
| Igor Shesterkin |
| Ilya Sorokin |
Biggest flex: My biggest flex is I accidentally gave Sergei Bobrovsky some thought. So I gave it slightly more time than Matt. This is the only team with three true star goalies.
Toughest cut: I cut open an Apple when I was writing this.
Also considered: None
Teams at a Glance
TEAM LARKIN
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Kucherov
Panarin-Malkin-Kaprizov
Kuzmenko-Buchnevich-Tarasenko
Nichushkin-Barbashev-Svechnikov
(Gusev, Michkov)
Sergachev-Provorov
Orlov-Romanov
Gavrikov-Zub
(Zadorov, Lyubushkin)
Vasilevskiy
Sorokin
(Shesterkin)
TEAM ELLIS
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Kaprizov
Panarin-Malkin-Kucherov
Kuzmenko-Buchenvich-Svechnikov
Nichushkin-Barbashev-Tarasenko
(Gusev, Radulov)
Sergachev-Provorov
Orlov-Romanov
Nikishin-Zub
(Gavrikov, Lyubushkin)
Vasilevskiy
Shesterkin
(Sorokin)
Previous Best on Best 2023 entries
Team Canada
Team USA
Team Finland
Team Sweden
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