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Originally Posted by LaPlante94
Anybody know much about him? Also does anybody know if he'll go to the KHL or stay in North America and try for an NHL career?
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Zharkov is a very interesting story. He left Russia and played one season in the USHL before joining Belleville. It's not a very common route that most European players take.
He's stated on numerous occasions that he came to North America to one day play in the NHL. He's never mentioned going back to playing in the KHL.
In terms of overall skill, there's a lot to be excited about with Zharkov. First, he's got great size. He's a 6'3, 200 pound forward and he'll probably add another 15 to 20 pounds in the next five years. He's an excellent skater with good high end speed. He's also got a great shot and is not afraid to play physical. Defensively, he needs a lot of work. There's also been some questions about his conditioning, but I think that goes with most kids his age who has bounced around North America for two seasons. Now that he's settled in Belleville, I fully expect that he'll be there for the next two season, so there's lots of time to get his conditioning and overall game in order.
He was projected at one point to go late in the first, but I think he'll be a mid second, early third round pick. The organization who drafts him will need to give him time to put it all together, but when he does, he's going to be excellent 2nd line winger who can probably pot 25 to 30 goals a year.
