Position: D, Shoots: R
H/W: 6-foot-2, 198 pounds
Date of Birth: 2007-04-10
Maxim Agafonov has created a lot of intrigue with his play this season. He profiles as a smooth skating two-way defenseman with lots of room to grow on both sides of the puck. He has shown off an impressive ability to choose moments to activate into offensive sequences and executes well timed movements in the defensive zone to break up plays.
Max grew up playing in the CSKA system earning a taste of MHL action last season with Krasnaya Armiya before being traded to Ufa in the deal for Ivan Drozdov. He fit in right away with his new club and earned a quick call up to the VHL where he has proven he can hold his own against men and looks as if he can take his game levels higher.
Activations into offensive attacks are one of Maxim’s biggest strengths. He does a great job reading the play and picking opportune moments to jump up and make himself an option. He uses smooth edgework, skilled hands, and well-timed cuts to work his way into space and create offensive opportunities nearly every time down the ice. He loves to freeze opponents with heel-to-heel pivots before accelerating past and into space and attempting a shot. He shoots often, peppering goalies with heavy wrist and slap shots from all over the ice.
Defensively, Maxim does a good job shadowing opponents in transition. He maintains a good gap and can read opponents well to swipe pucks away with a quick poke. He has shown some good physicality and seems to be trying to bring back an old school style of play, destroying his opponents with soul snatching hip checks.
There is still quite a bit of work that has to be done to bring Agafonov to an NHL level but, with the right improvements, I see a lot of potential for Max to become a strong bottom 4 defenseman in the NHL. The combination of his footwork and physical play, along with rush potential, crisp stretch passes, and a heavy shot could make for a tough, fan favorite, blueliner for years to come.
Skating
This season, Agafonov has shown an impressive ability to push pace with a smooth stride and clean edgework. He has the ability to charge up ice with speed to join plays, pushing past opponents with a few powerful strides.
The biggest knock on his skating game stems from some really bad habits he has with his edgework choices. He really loves to show off his heel-to-heel talents and often chooses to do so at times that really slow down his forward progression. He constantly opens his hips when moving with good pace through the neutral zone which instantly hinders his pace. There have been many times this year where I watched him miss a lead pass or become easily closed off by a defender because he decided to reset his stride with a hip open rather than skate through and get his spot.
With all that said, I think these habits can be corrected easily and allow for a lot of potential growth in the future. In the moments where he uses his edges properly, he can quickly pivot around opponents and work his way through tight lanes while protecting the puck with his body positioning. With the right training, I think he can easily correct his habits and become a much more efficient skater, able to maneuver his way around the offensive zone with ease and push pace in transition.
Smooth rush. Picks up good speed and does a good job using his edges to protect the puck while flying into the offensive zone.
Smooth footwork to shake opponent and protect puck on the breakout. Hits teammate cross ice with a stretch pass allowing for an easy zone entry.
Quick transition into the offensive zone. Good speed and lane selection for an easy entry.
Activates up ice, sneaking up the weak side. Uses hip opens to slow himself down and open himself up for a pass. Gets a solid shot off.
Grade: 55
Shot
When Maxim is locked in, he can really rip the puck. He has a heavy wrist shot which he lets go with purpose. He puts his full weight behind every shot and can get pucks off his stick quickly. He does a good job using his footwork to walk into open ice and slides down into the zone to become a passing option ready to shoot.
My biggest qualms with his shooting game currently are his decisions of when to let it rip. He lets the puck go without much thought and often settles for poor outside shots. He often stops up too soon and attempts to shoot from a distance or forces shots through clogged lanes from the point. In my opinion, this is the main reason why his goal numbers have been low despite high shot totals. He needs to learn to be more patient and hold onto the puck to find a better look or make a pass rather than throw everything in the direction of the net. Some patience will allow him to shoot from more dangerous areas of the ice which should then allow him to increase his shooting accuracy.
Similar to his skating, I think this is a fault that can be pretty easily improved upon. He has proven throughout this season that he can find and execute on difficult plays. He has the brains to be able to find better looks, he just needs to commit himself mentally towards shifting focus towards the best possible look rather than just getting all pucks to the net.
Hard, well placed, wrist shot finds the back of the net through traffic.
Not afraid to shoot when he has a look. 2 heavy slap shots, attempting to break a tie late in the game.
No reason to shoot here. He needs to learn to be more patient, move the puck around, and hit his target when the opportunity is there.
Grade: 55
Skills
Maxim handles the puck well and has shown some great flashes off the rush where he can dodge opponents with quick moves while cutting hard to the front of the net with confidence. He is not an elite puck handler who can pull off highlight reel dangles but has more than enough control to weave his way through the opposition and escape some tricky situations.
Max’s edgework allows him to quickly pivot in seemingly impossible ways to protect the puck and maneuver himself out of some tough situations. He is able to blend quick hip opens and edge changes with equally quick stick handles to position the puck on his body and shield possession from his opponents. He is still learning how to fully take advantage of this skill but has been able to create some dangerous chances with fun move combos.
At the VHL level, Agafonov just lacks confidence. He has proven many times in the MHL that he has the talent to rush coast to coast, beating defenders with quick moves along the way, but seems slightly afraid to hold onto the puck for too long against the pros. He has definitely settled in over the course of this season, so I expect to see a big jump in his play next year. I think coming in next season a bit more comfortable with the level of play will boost him enough to really take that next step and start embarrassing some of the older guys out there.
Quick handling around opps on a deep activation creates a dangerous wraparound chance.
Nifty footwork in combination with the fake shot allow Max to explode into space and get a shot off. Maybe not the most efficient move but he really froze his man and burst into open ice for a good look off a
Ankles snatched.
Good show of handling. Controls a tricky pass and quickly moves the puck up to a teammate with a better look at entering the zone. All done under pressure and with the necessity to reposition the puck on his body. Able to execute the pass in a quick, calm manner then continues to the net to remain involved in the play.
Slippery footwork to evade his man and burst into space. Then a strong cut to the front of the net, nearly creating a dangerous chance.
Grade: 50
Smarts
Many plays that Agafonov has attempted this season have shown a lot of brains and allow for a peek into what his game could develop into in the near future. His off puck movements allow for him to be a dangerous option coming down from the point and he has shown flashes of smart pass choices that lead directly to dangerous looks.
As I mentioned earlier, his best plays this season have come off the rush. Max picks great moments to jump into the play and reads the rush well, allowing him to quickly slide into open pockets of space and take advantage of weak spots in defensive schemes. He keeps his head up, aware of cutting teammates and has the ability to set them up with clean passes. His head is always up when carrying up ice and he has shown off a strong ability to hit teammates in-stride with crisp stretch passes when there is no skating option.
Playmaking is where I want to see Agafonov put a lot of emphasis on over the next few seasons. It does not seem to be his first instinct to look for the pass and misses out on many opportunities to create offense due to a lack of attention. He holds onto pucks for too long, hesitates, and can sometimes look off teammates to opt for a low danger shot from distance. He is more than capable of completing these plays and he has shown flashes of smart reads, drawing opponents to him before sliding pucks to his teammates, just not consistently enough for my liking. Offensive zone distribution should be his main focus. He needs to learn to move the puck around quickly and effectively to help his game translate at higher levels.
Maybe my favorite Agafonov play this year. Sets up the give and go perfectly with a quick scan of the defensive coverage and a well timed cut towards the net to create a goal.
Activation down the wall and a nice behind the back pass to set up his teammate in front of the net.
Eyes on the developing play in the neutral zone. Slides up to become an option and creates offense after zone entry.
Grade: 50
Physicality/Compete
Physicality has been one of Agafonov’s biggest strengths this season. He battles hard behind the net and loves to catch guys off guard with big hits along the boards. He has good timing and steps up with purpose, dropping opponents with strong hits off the rush. He shows off good timing to cut players off along the wall and shuts down plays in his own end with strong checks to the glass and a quick stick lift.
An interesting trend in Max’s checking game is his love for the hip check. He has lined up guys with near perfect hip checks at least three times this season, flipping them into next week with perfectly timed step ups. Not sure how translatable this could be to the NHL level, but it is definitely an entertaining and intimidating tool in his arsenal right now.
The biggest concern I have with his physical game is lack of strength. At the VHL level he has some trouble outmuscling opponents along the wall and clearing the front of the net. He gives it his all and can usually do a good job to force opponents away from dangerous areas but not very consistently. He is young, playing in a men's professional league so this type of issue is expected. With some more time in the weight room, this issue should resolve itself very quickly.
Hip Check x3.
Good hustle on forecheck during activation creates a dangerous look.
Agile footwork and quick feet allow Max to stay in front of his man in transition and corner him at the blue line to shut down the rush and force a turnover.
A good example of strength issues. He can keep up with play and is able to keep his man to the outside just enough to keep him from cutting inside but has to put a lot of effort into forcing him away from the net and his following checks in the corner do little damage to his man.
Grade: 57.5
OFP: 53.75
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.