With the 117th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Nashville Predators selected defender Semyon Chistyakov from Tolpar Ufa of the Russian MHL. Chistyakov scored one goal and 11 points for Ufa in 32 games this season and added two more goals for Team Russia at the 2019 U18 World Junior Championship.
Chistyakov was ranked 16th among European skaters by NHL Central Scouting; I had him ranked 71st among all skaters. Additionally, I pegged Chistyakov as a good option for Nashville in the fourth round (you can read that here). Here’s what I wrote:
“Chistyakov is good for a reliable transition up to the blue line often; his pivots up ice with the puck were very impressive.
His offensive upside is probably limited, but he can be a good option on the power play and plays physically despite his smaller stature.
All statistics are courtesy of eliteprospects.com.