Under general manager Ron Hextall, the Philadelphia Flyers have had somewhat of a penchant for bringing Russian players into the organization, especially prospects. In his first four drafts in charge of the team, the Flyers took six players from the largest country in the world, along with Belarusian Maksim Sushko. It was a stark change for the franchise — in seven drafts under Hextall’s predecessor, Paul Holmgren, the Flyers selected only one Russian, Valeri Vasiliev, a seventh-round pick in 2012.
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Hextall’s streak of drafting Russians ended this year, but despite that he still managed to add a talented defenseman from Chelyabinsk to the fold. That would be Yegor Zamula, the latest addition to a prospect pool positively brimming with talent. Zamula went undrafted in June, so the Calgary Hitmen blueliner tried his luck winning a contract in a familiar environment over summer, attending the Calgary Flames’ development camp, though he left without a contract. But the Flyers saw something in Zamula and invited him to their main training camp.
In a strange twist, just three years before, another gangly blueliner had been passed over during Flames development camp, attended the Flyers’ main camp, and left Philadelphia with an entry-level contract. Of course, that man was Philippe Myers, who just 15 months later would be thrilling hockey fans with his play for Canada in the World Juniors, and who now sits tantalizingly close to the NHL as the team’s top defensive prospect.
Now Yegor Zamula is not Philippe Myers, let us make that abundantly clear. However, during Flyers camp he impressed everyone in the same manner that Myers had a few years before. Despite being 6-foot-3 and about 165 pounds, and obviously in need of time to grow into his frame, the 18-year-old Zamula held his own against grown men often 40 pounds heavier.
First, he impressed in practice, with his smooth stride, active stick, good gap control and poise with the puck on his stick. Then he took those skills and showcased them against a mixture of AHLers and NHLers, playing in two preseason games and more than holding his own. Against the Islanders he played as well as could be expected, and he had a solid performance versus the Rangers despite a few small hiccups.
What impressed most in those games was not only the fact that he transferred his good fundamental skills to a game situation against experienced players, but that he also – somewhat surprisingly – held his own physically, competed in board battles and did not seem thrown off by forechecking pressure. It therefore made sense when the organization signed Zamula to an entry-level contract after just 11 days in Flyers camp, before sending him back to the WHL.
So what kind of player is Zamula? And what can we say about his future?
The intrigue from the Flyers’ brass is easy to understand. Zamula possesses all of the foundational skills that a modern NHL defenseman requires. He is a plus skater with long, smooth strides, has a good outlet pass and sees the ice well. He is defensively very sound for a player his age, with an innate ability to understand pressure, avoid it and exit the defensive zone. It is therefore easy to envision him as a strong player down the line — with another 40 pounds or so on a fully developed frame, he would not only hold his own physically, but also be capable of matching almost any NHLer on the boards and around the net.
It really has been a whirlwind year for Zamula, but despite being a virtual unknown coming into Flyers camp, he did not simply appear out of nowhere. The pedigree has been there for some time, but his lack of physical development somewhat obscured it. As a 16-year-old, he ranked 11th among all defensemen in scoring at the Russian under-17 level, out-producing three of the seven defensemen who would be selected for the u-17 national team for the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Based on that season, he was selected with the final pick in the first round of the 2017 CHL import draft by the Regina Pats.
While his draft season — split between Regina and Calgary — was unremarkable from a box score perspective (18 points and +0 over 69 games), he impressed the Russian national team staff enough to earn a spot on the under-18 national team for the World Juniors, which coincidentally took place in his hometown. While Russia was knocked out of their home championships in the quarterfinals by a brilliant display from the United States, which would go on to take silver, Zamula showed that he could more than hold his own against the best prospects his age in the world. Danila Zhuravlyov, the talented fifth-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche, was the only blueliner on the Russian team who clearly “dazzled” more, while Zamula’s overall level of play was on par with Alexander Romanov, his defenseman partner, who was selected by Montreal with the 38th overall pick this year and now plays in the KHL.
Zamula has not set the world on fire since heading back to the WHL this season, but he play on a struggling team — third from the bottom in the league — and he has arguably been its best defenseman, posting seven points in fifteen games with a -2 rating. That may not seem like anything special, but of the 23 skaters who have seen the ice for Calgary this year, only four have positive ratings.
Furthermore, while Zamula is on Calgary’s top power play unit and is his team’s second-most offensively gifted defenseman behind Nashville prospect Vladislav Yeryomenko, he does not have the natural offensive mindset of players like Shayne Gostisbehere, Myers, Travis Sanheim or even Mark Friedman. He can run a power play well from the left point, is an accurate passer, and has a good wrist-shot with a deceptive release. But while he has a booming slap-shot that he at times exhibited both for Calgary and the Russian under-18 team, he seems to prefer to corral the puck and wrist it, and he’s quite passive in regards to getting up ice at 5v5 to join the attack.
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As a result, at 5-on-5 he is probably not as dangerous as his skill set should make him, since he does not often take the initiative himself and carry the puck up ice, preferring to feed forwards with speed through the neutral zone. This in itself is not a flaw, and he does it very effectively, but given his tendencies it’s unlikely he will ever be a big scorer at higher levels unless he develops a more aggressive offensive mindset.
This season expect Zamula to eclipse the 0.5 point-per-game mark while also playing solidly in his own zone. Anything more than that will be a good year for him. Given his skill set, if he continues to develop and matures physically he certainly has an NHL future, likely as a defensively sound, puck-moving defenseman in a “depth” role. However, there is a level of intrigue with Zamula, a thought he could eclipse such predictions, especially if he can reorientate his game at 5v5 to be more aggressive.
Zamula is a prospect for the long haul though, and only time will tell. What is certain is that he gives the Flyers another blueline prospect with legitimate NHL upside, and a skill set that should in theory suit the direction in which the league is going.
(Top photo: John McCreary / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)