He’s one of the most, if not the most, trusted defensive forward on a strong SKA team. His counting stats don’t pop out, but if you watch his game, you can see how important he is for his team. He’s been on the first PK for his entire young career, wins faceoffs, is defensively smart and responsible, and on top of that, has a dangerous shot. He had 18 points in 42 games last season in a 4th line role, no PP time.
I’m very excited to see how he fits in with the Devils bottom-6 and PK when he comes over to N. America! He may be another massive 7th round steal.
by Comrade_Bean_Juice
4 Comments
His contract with SKA expires summer 2024. We may see him in training camp next year!
If anything, that’s a cool name
I remember hearing when he drafted that he has the talent to be an excellent bottom 6 forward but he has major on ice discipline issues and takes a ton of penalties because of that. However, looks like he’s better with the penalties now from the way you described him.
I’m also a big fan of Bardakov’s game, although AFAIK we’re still waiting for a timeline on when he’ll return from injury. He’s really struggled to stay healthy with his balls-to-the-wall style of hockey.
But if Zakhar can limit the injuries, I like his chances of at least becoming a Nate Bastian type: a big strong shutdown forward with good quickness, enough vision/skill for an NHL bottom 6, and a motor so insane it keeps getting him hurt. At the KHL level, there are shifts where Bardakov is like a 3rd defenseman (especially in the PK). At 22 he doesn’t have much more runway as a prospect, but he’s also very close to being NHL-ready.
If anyone wants to see for themselves, the youtube channel Guadana Prospects has a bunch of awesome single-game reels of Bardakov. They show steady improvement from Zakhar throughout the 2022-23 season, culminating in this dominant two-way performance from the KHL’s conference finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tLNVL4ELVI