Gotovets, Kirill

Relegation Round
France 0 @ USA 4
Mike Lundin, USA, 0-1-1, +1, 0 PIM, 0 SOG
Tournament totals: 5 GP, 0-1-1, E, 0 PIM

Scott Clemmensen had a mind blowingly light 10 save shutout to move USA to 2-0-0 in the Relegation Round at the World Championships. Lightning defenseman Mike Lundin got his first point of the tournament in the match, a helper on a goal by Brandon Dubinsky, in 13:49 of ice time.

Qualifying Round
Denmark 1 @ Russia 6
Vasily Koshechkin, Russia, Win, 30/31, 1.00 GAA, .968 sv%
Tournament totals: 2 GP, 2-0-0, 0 SO, 1.00 GAA, .969 sv%

Pavel Datsyuk had 3 goals and 1 assist as Russia pummeled Denmark 6-1. Lightning prospect netminder Vasily Kosehchkin stopped 30 of 31 shots faced in his second start of the tournament. The effort knocked his gaudy save percentage down from a mark of .970 to a mere .969.

Latvia 5 @ Norway 0
Martins Karsums, Latvia, 0-0-0, +2, 0 PIM, 1 SOG
Tournament totals: 5 GP, 3-1-4, +5, 2 PIM

Latvia got 2 goals from Janis Sprukts as they dismantled Norway 5-0. Edgars Masalskis stopped all 30 shots he faced for the shutout for the Latvians. Lightning prospect forward Martins Karsums played 15:33 in the match.

Germany 1 @ Belarus 2 (OT)
Kirill Gotovets, Belarus, DNP
Tournament totals: 3 GP, 0-0-0, -2, 2 PIM

Belarus got an overtime goal from Alexei Kalyuzhny (easy for you to say) 4:45 into the extra session to upend home country Germany 2-1. Lightning prospect defenseman Kirill Gotovets did not dress for the match.

Sweden 3 @ Canada 1
Johan Harju, Sweden, 1-0-1, +1, 0 PIM, 3 SOG
Tournament toals: 5 GP, 2-0-2, E, 2 PIM

Victor Hedman, Sweden, 0-0-0, E, 2 PIM, 0 SOG
Tournament totals: 5 GP, 0-1-1, +1, 2 PIM

Steve Downie, Canada, 0-0-0, +1, 0 SOG
Tournament totals: 5 GP, 2-0-2, +2, 10 PIM

Steven Stamkos, Canada, DNP
Tournament totals: 3 GP, 2-1-3, +1, 2 PIM

"Big Joe" Harju opened to scoring for Sweden, which defeated Canada 3-1. Harju Played 16:35 in the match. Sweden also got a pair of goals by forward Jonas Andersson. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman played 18:34 for the Swedes. At the other end of the ice, Lightning forward Steve Downie played 13:10 in the match and was on the ice for a goal by Brooks Laich, Canada's only goal of the match. Lightning star Steven Stamkos missed his second game after being concussed against Switzerland and ex-Lightning defenseman Timo Helbling.

Slovakia 0 @ Denmark 6
Vladimir Mihalik, Slovakia, 0-0-0, E, 0 PIM, 0 SOG
Tournament totals: 4 GP, 0-0-0, +1, 2 PIM

Richard Panik, Slovakia, 0-0-0, E, 2 PIM, 0 SOG
Tournament totals: 4 GP, 0-2-2, +2, 4 PIM

Denmark scored 6 goals in the first period to shock Slovakia 6-0 in their preliminary round World Championships match. Lightning prospect defenseman Vladimir Mihalik played 19:07 in the match for the Slovaks while fellow Lightning prospect Richard Panik played 20:40.

Canada 12 @ Norway 1
Steve Downie, Canada, 1-0-1, +1, 0 PIM, 2 SOG
Tournament totals: 4 GP, 2-0-2, +1, 10 PIM

Steven Stamkos, DNP
Tournament totals: 3 GP, 2-1-3, +1, 2 PIM

Norway had the unfortunate task of playing an annoyed Canadian squad after the Canadians lost in an upset to Switzerland in their previous match, and the results were not pretty. Canada got a hat trick from the Islanders' John Tavares as they dismantled the Norweigians 12-1. Lightning forward Steve Downie had a goal 15:14 of ice time. Star forward Steven Stamkos missed the match while recovering from a concussion.

Finland 2 @ Belarus 0
Kirill Gotovets, 0-0-0, -1, 0 PIM, 1 SOG
Tournament totals: 3 GP, 0-0-0, -2, 2 PIM

Finland got a pair of second period goals, including a marker by Jarkko Immonen in Finland's 2-0 win over Belarus. Lightning prospect defenseman Kirill Gotovets had 6:43 of ice time and did not see another shift after being on the ice for Finland's second goal.

Sweden 4 @ Latvia 2
Victor Hedman, Sweden, 0-1-1, E, 0 PIM, 0 SOG
Tournament totals: 4 GP, 0-1-1, +1, 0 PIM

Johan Harju, Sweden, 0-0-0, -1, 0 PIM, 4 SOG
Tournament totals: 4 GP, 1-0-1, -1, 2 PIM

Martins Karsums, Latvia, 2-0-2, +2, 0 PIM, 2 SOG
Tournament totals: 4 GP, 3-1-4, +3, 2 PIM

Latvia got a pair of goals from Lightning prospect forward Martins Karsums, but it wasn't enough as the Baltic republic fell to Sweden 4-2. Karsums played 15:31 in the match and was named Latvia's best player. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman assisted on a first period goal by Oilers first rounder Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and played 17:06 in the match. Lightning prospect forward Johan Harju played played 14:38 and was on the ice for Karsums' second goal in the third period.

Russia 3 @ Belarus 1
Kirill Gotovets, Belarus, 0-0-0, -1, 2 PIM, 1 SOG
Tournament totals: 2 GP, 0-0-0, -1, 2 PIM

Vasily Koshechkin, Russia, DNP
Tournament totals: 1 GP, 0-0-0, 0 SO, 1.00 GAA, .970 sv%

Team Russia got 1 goal and 1 assist from Sergei Mozyakin in a 3-1 win over Belarus. Belarussian defenseman and Lightning prospect Kirill Gotovets gained 12:47 of valuable experience in the loss. Vasily Koshechkin did not dress for Russia.

Kazakhstan 1 @ Slovakia 5
Vladimir Mihalik, Slovakia, 0-0-0, +1, 0 PIM, 3 SOG
Tournament totals: 3 GP, 0-0-0, +1, 2 PIM

Richard Panik, Slovakia, 0-0-0, +1, 2 PIM, 1 SOG
Tournament totals: 3 GP, 0-2-2, +2, 2 PIM

Slovakia got a pair of goals from Ivan Ciernek in their 5-1 blowout win over Kazakhstan. Lightning prospect defenseman Vladimir Mihalik played 19:41 in the match while forward prospect Richard Panik played 12:27 in the match for the Slovaks. Ex-Lightning draft pick Ilya Solarev played 13:21 in the match but was -3 with 3 shots on goal for Kazakhstan.

Sweden 1 @ Czech Republic 2
Victor Hedman, Sweden, 0-0-0, E, 0 PIM, 4 SOG
Tournament totals: 3 GP, 0-0-0, E, 0 PIM

Johan Harju, Sweden, 0-0-0, -1, 0 PIM, 0 SOG
Tournament totals: 3 GP, 1-0-1, E, 2 PIM

Despite a goal from Edmonton Oilers first rounder Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Sweden fell to the Czech Republic 2-1 today. Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman played 21:02 in the match. Lightning prospect forward Johan Harju played 14:31 for the Swedes, but was on the ice for a shorthanded goal by Tomas Rolinek that opened the scoring for the Czechs.

D Kirill Gotovets, Shattuck-St. Mary’s, USHS
Season Totals: 40 GP, 8-16-24, 71 PIM

Gotovets, a Cornell commit, had five points after 14 games, but has 19 points in his last 26, including nine in his last 10. His 71 PIM are second on the club. Shattuck was 39-9-4 entering play this past weekend (results TBA).

D Kirill Gotovets, Shattuck-St. Mary’s
Season Totals: 30 GP, 5-10-15, 65 PIM

Shattuck (31-8-3) has won six of their last eight games. They beat Breck High School (Blake Wheeler's HS) 4-1 in their last game on January 21. Gotovets, a Cornell commit, had five points after 14 games, but has 10 points in his last 16. He is third among Shattuck defensemen in scoring. 5'11" Nick Bruneteau, a Nebraska native, leads all Shattuck defensemen with 32 points in 38 games. He was not on Central Scouting's mid-term rankings. His brother, Brett, was a fourth round pick of Washington in 2007 who's currently playing for the University of North Dakota.

Lightning draftee Kirill Gotovets recently competed in Poland with his native Belarus in the IIHF World U20 Championships, DIV I Group B tournament. Gotovets, a defenseman, and his Belarus teammates were attempting to qualify for the 2011 World Junior Championships (WJC) in the U.S. by advancing out of the division.

Belarus (3-0-2) finished with the silver, however, and won't join Canada, Russia, Sweden, and the like next year. Gotovets went scoreless in two games played, while accumulating four penalty minutes and seven shots on goal. The Cornell University commit will now return to Shattuck St-Mary's school in Minnesota, where he has three goals and nine points to go with 49 penalty minutes in 19 games.

Norway advanced out of Group B and will join Germany (Group A) as entries in next Christmas' WJC tournament.

Minnesota Red 10 vs. Shattuck-St. Mary’s 3 (Championship)
D Kirill Gotovets, S-SM: 0-0-0, 0 PIM
Season Totals: 14 GP, 2-3-5, 33 PIM

Shattuck advanced to the Bauer NIT Tournament (New Hope, Minnesota) championship game with an 8-1 win over the Dallas Stars and a 7-1 win over the MDHL U-18 White team. They fell hard to a good Minnesota Red squad in the finals, 10-3. Warroad HS senior and North Dakota commit Brock Nelson, a possible Mr. Hockey candidate in Minnesota, had a hat trick for Red. Gotovets, a Cornell commit, played in two of the three games and did not register a point.

D Kirill Gotovets, Shattuck-Saint Mary's, USHS
Season Totals: 14 GP, 2-3-5, 33 PIM

Gotovets, a Cornell recruit and a 2009 seventh round draft choice of the Lightning, is having a so-so year offensively thus far for Shattuck-Saint Mary's (Minnesota, USHS). After accumulating six goals and 29 points in 50 games last season, the defenseman has five points after 14 games this season. His first goal of the season came on October 7, a 5-4 loss to Northeast. He also had 15 penalty minutes in the game for grabbing an opponent's facemask (5 minute major) and a subsequent game misconduct. That game would also end his three game point streak. He scored again against Southwest on October 11, a 4-1 win. Two of his three assists have come on the power play. His 33 penalty minutes leads the team. Gotovets missed Shattuck's last game, a 3-2 loss to Northwest on October 25.

Lightning prospect defenseman Kirill Gotovets and Shattuck St. Mary's got their season underway this past weekend, going 3-0. The Sabres defeated Team Northeast, 7-3, Team Southwest, 8-3, and Team Wisconsin, 5-3. Gotovets, a Cornell commit, did not register a point. He had eight minutes in penalties (cross-checking, roughing-2, elbowing). Gotovets was a seventh round pick of the Bolts this past summer.

It's almost impossible to beat the haul the Lightning got in 1998 (Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Dimitry Afanasenkov, and Martin Cibak), but I think the Lightning might've just completed their second best draft in team history. They already completed a first in history making a pair of first round picks on night one of the draft with Victor Hedman and Carter Ashton, so they were on their way already.

However, their second and fourth round selections really put this draft over the top. Richard Panik is a big time gamble, but he's going to a very good program in Windsor and will be playing for Bob Boughner. On pure talent, he could be even better than Ashton if you can get his head on straight, and he'll be in the environment in Windsor to facilitate that.

And, we love that Alex Hutchings pick. Absolutely love it. You got a hockey player who can play center or wing. Good skater. Good hockey sense. He can pass. He can shoot. He mucks well for a little guy. He just knows how to play the game. It's shocking he fell into the Lightning's lap in the fourth round, and in getting Hutchings the Lightning completed a very successful first four rounds where they got 4 of the top 48 rated prospects by THN and 4 of the top 60 by Red Line. That's in a deep draft, no less, so they got a lot of quality.

The goaltenders, Zador and Janus, seem like a reaction to Karri Ramo's defection. Zador's got to get playing time, but he was a first rounder in the OHL Priority Draft in 2007, so he's got raw ability. Janus made his name at the WJC's and had decent statistics for Erie this season. Because Janus was an overager, he'll probably only have one more year in junior. Zador probably gets two. You're just wishing and hoping one of them develops the way Ramo did when the Lightning took a sixth rounder on him out of Lahti.

I have a feeling the Lightning got some value out of that Gotovets pick. I'm guessing if his name was Johnson or Wilson, he might've gone a couple of rounds sooner, but teams are terrified of the KHL poaching their players. Yes, there's a danger if Gotovets develops he could be poached by Dynamo Minsk, but he's already taken the step of coming over to Shattuck and he already speaks pretty flawless English. I don't think you make that commitment and go to an Ivy League school like Cornell only to turn back around and go back to Belarus, and I have yet to hear about anything glaringly wrong with his game other than the fact he's pretty skinny. He'll be a darkhorse to watch over the next few years.

The only regret is that the Lightning didn't find a way to get an offensive defenseman or two into the system. That'll be something they'll need to look at next year, and they'll certainly continue to try to flesh out their forward depth. Getting Ashton, Panik, and Hutchings was a whale of a start, though. Very good draft. I suspect they get at least three NHL players out of this group.

Update:
Evidently, Janus would've gone to Russia to play in the KHL if he hadn't been drafted, and he wants to play pro this season and not go back to junior. That's an interesting problem for a Lightning organization that has Riku Helenius and Dustin Tokarski all but inked into the lineup in Norfolk next season.