In the National Hockey League, John Chayka and Kyle Dubas became general managers at the ages of 26 and 32, respectively. The KHL has its Dubas, a man named Maxim Gafurov, who was named GM of the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo in 2020 at the age of 32.
Gafurov, who also happens to be the GM for CH contender Bogdan Konyushkov in the KHL, agreed to comment on several hot topics during a lengthy phone conversation with TVASports.ca.
For example: Who is the next Artemi Panarin? Possibly the son of Andrei Kovalenko, former Quebec Nordiques and Montreal Canadiens forward.
“I am biased because he is one of my attackers, but I would say Nikolai Kovalenko,” Gafurov said. It's been a complicated season for him due to injuries, but he has great strength of character. His father was a very good player and thanks to him Nikolai speaks a little English.”
Nikolai Kovalenko belongs to the Colorado Avalanche. “I think the Avalanche see him as a player who can play on their front three lines and on the penalty kill,” said Gafurov, who was commercial director at sports performance analytics firm InStat before taking a general manager position in the KHL.
Founded in Moscow in 2007, InStat now has offices around the world and has become a benchmark for sports analytics in football, hockey and basketball. It is a valuable tool, especially for Boy Scouts.
When Gafurov is touted as the KHL's Dubas, it's not necessarily because he took on that role at a young age. Dubas, now at the helm of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was once known as Lou Lamoriello's heir apparent in Toronto. And Gafurov also benefited from the wisdom of the dean of NHL general managers. He was able to meet Lamoriello in person.
“Apparently nobody likes him, but still I had a fantastic meeting with him,” Gafurov said. A great man. I really appreciated the valuable advice he gave me. He took chapters of his favorite book with him. I still consult this information from time to time.
“We mainly discussed the types of personality you need in a locker room. This applies to all sports. Every championship team seems to have these specific ingredients.
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A fascinating team
Journal de Québec colleague Kevin Dubé made it clear in an article published in September: The KHL is not a development league. Several promising young players have paid the price for the old mentalities espoused by those in charge of the continental tournament.
In this regard, Gafurov's club stands out. The torpedo assigned important tasks to 21-year-old Konyushkov, 21-year-old Vasily Atanasov, 18-year-old Nikita Artamonov and, above all, 17-year-old Anton Silayev.
An approach so out of place in the KHL that it leaves some of Gafurov's colleagues in disbelief.
“We don’t act like a typical KHL team,” the Torpedo GM admitted. We are very different. Some of my colleagues have, shall we say, significant reservations. With the current situation making it difficult to recruit foreign players, it is time to give young people a chance.
The strategy is all the more logical as Torpedo needs to find a way to stand out despite a tight budget compared to top teams like Saint Petersburg's SKA and Moscow's CKSA. And like Moneyball in baseball, the Torpedo has nothing to envy for these powers, as the club has won four more victories than Moscow this season.
“Results are not the priority. They are crucial, yes, and they are an integral part of the plans. But we try to develop hockey players. It's an approach more similar to what we'll see in the NHL from here on out. We are trying to build a team for the future by developing as many new employees as possible.
“Otherwise we cannot compete financially with other clubs. SKA and Dynamo have a budget that is twice as big as ours.”
Without a modern head coach like Igor Larionov, such a strategy would not be possible.
“He is the son of Valeri Kharlamov [ancienne légende du hockey soviétique], Alexander, who had the idea to hire him, explained Gafurov. Our priority was to implement an attack-oriented playstyle, which is a large part of Torpedo's identity.
“Before Larionov arrived, I saw a lot of problems in our approach. We had good players but our philosophy was terrible. We wanted to open the game. Larionov was certainly the solution.
Two good hopes for 2024
Gafurov is still struggling to explain why Atanasov, one of his club's young gems, didn't find a buyer in the last draft.
“I recommended him to NHL teams, and Larionov too,” the manager said. I don't know why teams turned their noses up at him. It would have been a great find. In the final rounds the risk is low, but it can be worth it.”
At the next auction we have two more of his players to keep an eye on, Artamonov and Silayev.
Silayev, a hulking 6-foot-2 defender who could be ranked in the top 10, is the one drawing particular attention. A little too much for Gafurov's taste.
“It's a T-Rex!” He's smart, but he's still a kid. The problem is that he is receiving too many calls at the moment! Sometimes it is a source of distraction. I fear this will negatively impact his game.
“Don’t get me wrong, he has character. He is a leader. But it's tiring. He is constantly asked for interviews and calls. It's part of his job, but I discussed it with his agent to prevent it from hurting his game.
We remind you that Silayev, a defenseman, set the KHL points record for a player under 18 this season. In 47 games, he scored 11 points with three goals and eight assists, one more than Vladimir Tarasenko in the 2008–2009 season with Novosibirsk.
“His impact in the NHL will depend on the team that recruits him,” Gafurov noted. He can certainly become THE defender. I think he has tremendous potential as a two-way defender.”
As for Artamonov, his name could become popular pretty quickly, even if he's not necessarily a first-round candidate.
“Playing with the torpedo at 18 gave him visibility,” Gafurov said. He deserves to be picked in the second or third round. He is a sniper who can also help someone score. He's pretty strong, he has good legs. The role model he could follow is Kirill Kaprizov.”
When NHL teams have questions about these players, they know where to turn.
“We have a good moral sense,” assured Gafurov. We proceed openly. We're happy that our players end up in the NHL because that gives us credibility. Take Chris Wideman. His career was in jeopardy. He came to play with us and got an offer from the Canadiens.