GALIEV ON THE FENCE HEADING INTO FIRST ROUND

By Bert Richardson
Station Nation Staff

Stanislav Galiev will find out tonight if he is worthy of being selected in the opening round of the National Hockey League entry draft.

The Saint John Sea Dogs forward will be selected by a NHL club at some point over the next two days. But where he will be eventually selected is the million dollar question.

Galiev is a borderline first round pick by many agencies while others have him going in the middle of the second round. The first 30 selections of the draft take place tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California at 8:00 pm on TSN. The following rounds begin tomorrow morning at the same venue.

TSN ranks Galiev as their 40th best prospect, NHL Central Scouting lists him at 20, International Scouting Services at 24, and The Hockey News has the Russian going at 37.

“Saint John Sea Dogs forward Stanislav Galiev started the year with a strong chance to be taken in the first round but gradually turned scouts off with his lukewarm production,” said Willy Palov in the Chronicle Herald. “He should end up as a second-rounder but may slip into the third.”

Galiev’s production this past season with the regular season champion Sea Dogs is being put into question by several members of the scouting community. The left winger registered 15 goals and 45 assists in 67 games while playing on the top line with Nicholas Petersen and Mike Hoffman for much of those matches.

Also put into question is his work ethic, as Station Nation reported last week.

“He's a really crafty player,” Sports Illustrated says. “Strong on his feet and really creative with the puck. He's having trouble finishing right now, but he's piling up points with his playmaking skills.”

“Galiev is a dynamic forward with a lot of offensive flare, much like the other high end Russians available in this crop,” TheScoutingReport.org says. “He’s a little inconsistent right now and needs to do a better job of capitalizing on his chances, but there is no doubt that the talent is there. The other thing that is good to see with Galiev is that he obviously has the desire to play in the NHL which is something that scouts will like to see and should alleviate any concerns of the ‘Russian Factor’.”

“Galiev didn’t get the hype that Kirill Kabanov received this year, but Saint John got way more bang for their buck than Moncton did,” said Dean Millard of The Pipeline Show, who has Galiev going 24th overall to the Atlanta Thrashers. “Galiev carries the puck like it’s taped to his stick and while he might not ever be confused with a goal scorer he’s a terrific set up man. He played in the USHL before joining Saint John and was snubbed by Russia at the World Junior Championship. He’s also very responsible in his own end and works very hard. Galiev isn’t as flashy or talented as Atlanta’s last Russian but he’ll be a slick pro, especially once he gets a little stronger.”

“Galiev has been called a good all around player and is compared to Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk,” said the Bleacher Report, who selected Galiev with 23rd overall pick of their mock draft.

“Galiev recently completed his first season with the QMJHL powerhouse Saint John Sea Dogs,” said the Columbus Blue Jackets blog The Cannon. “The team had a bevy of top forwards, so Galiev's numbers aren't that of a number one sniper- but that doesn't take away from the fact that he is an offensive dynamo. Of all the Russian-born players in this year's draft, Galiev is the least-likely to be a flight risk. By playing in the USHL for a year before joining the Q he has shown a commitment to playing pro hockey in North America.”