He's one of the youngest players in his league, but he's also one of the best.
He's a teenage alternate captain, his team's leading scorer and a crowd pleaser.
Even on the road, fans come to see him play and he is inundated with media requests everywhere he goes.
Sound familiar⢠Sidney Crosby, right?
Yes, but it wasn't Crosby that former NHL and Canadian national team coach Dave King was talking about. The first North American coach in the Russian Super League was talking about the top prospect not yet in the NHL and the Penguins' No. 2 overall draft pick in 2004, center Evgeni Malkin.
"He's probably the biggest star in the league," said King, Malkin's coach on Metallurg Magnitogorsk. "He's the player people come to watch. They want to see Malkin. I hear things from other people about Sidney and to have those two young players to build a team around, that's quite impressive."
Malkin's accomplishments thus far this season are impressive to say the least. He was named MVP of the Rosno Cup international tournament in December. In January he totaled 10 points in six games and was named top forward and MVP at the World Junior Championship tournament. And in February, he will join Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar representing Russia at the Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.
"He's played with our team, gone to the World Junior Championship, the Rosno Cup with the senior national team then going to the Olympics," King said. "When the season's over he's probably going to have played more games than any other Russian player."
At 19 years old, Malkin is listed at 6-3 and 185 pounds. And, King said, he can do it all. He's the team's leading scorer and King believes he could end up as the league's leading scorer at season's end, too, despite missing four games while he was competing at the World Junior Championship.
"He's got everything you want - he's a great skater, real good skill, he's big, he's got very good speed and he's a real hard working player on the ice," Kings said. "He's very entertaining and has scored some unbelievable goals for us this year. He's a real crowd pleaser. He's got charisma in his game."
But unlike recent Russian phenoms to jump to the NHL, Malkin is far from being a one-dimensional player.
"He does all of it," King said. "Key face-offs, kills penalties, plays in the last minute of the game, he does a lot of things so well. He steals a lot of passes, he's continually forechecking and his ability to take the puck away with his stick, take off and go is amazing."
Malkin is under contract with Magnitogorsk until 2008, and there is still no transfer agreement in place between the Russian Federation and the NHL. In order to play here next year, Magnitogorsk would have to let him out of his contract and the Penguins would also need to sign him. But agent Pat Brisson said as far back as August that he expects Malkin will be in the NHL in 2006-07, and so does King.
"I would think so," King said. "I think (Magnitogorsk) will try to convince him to stay maybe one more year if they can because they're building a new arena here and they will make an attempt to keep him. But I know he's thinking about the NHL."
