Daniil Chayka

A powerful upright skating defenseman with lean frame and a nice amount of snarl. Mobile defenseman with good size and excellent feet. Displays an excellent lateral glide and nice edging that helps him maintain tight spacings in open space. Defensively, he uses his long arms to shepherd attackers to the outside, and his aggressive stick and reach cause turnovers. Makes very good outlet passes from his end. Can win possession in his end and then skates behind his net to gain speed and fly up and out in transition. A player on the upswing of his development, although he had a disappointingly quiet World Junior Tourney where Coach Igor Larionov pulled back on the extensive ice time Chayka saw early on, where he was surprisingly ineffective. He showed m=some crisp passing, but was unaware near his own net, allowing traffic safe passage to the blue paint unchallenged. Has plenty of good traits and time to iron out his game.

—Bill Placzek