Day 2 draft picks are always a bit of a crapshoot. These players always have something that catches the eye (like, say, size), but also have way more question marks than the players that go in the top half of the first round. There is so much that can go wrong in their development, and many won’t reach the NHL at all. This is even more true with Russians, who may prefer to stay home and take the guaranteed payday of the KHL.
Given all that, you’d be forgiven for not thinking much of the selection of Dmitri Voronkov in the 4th round of the 2019 draft. The Columbus Blue Jackets were coming off of the most successful postseason run in franchise history, and were firmly in win-now mode. They had few picks that year, and all of them were projects. Maybe we’d see Voronkov 5 years from then, but who knows?
The good news was Voronkov secured his spot as a regular in the KHL at the age of 20. He was still just 22 when he got to play in 6 games for the national team en route to winning the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. He didn’t seem to be much of a scorer, however, only breaking the 20 point mark with 31 (18G/13A) in 54 games in his final season. He did show a bit more offensive skill in the playoffs, with 10 points in 15 games in 2020-21 (losing in the conference finals to Yegor Chinakhov’s Avangard Omsk) and 12 points in 24 games in 2022-23 as his Ak Bars Kazan reached the Gagarin Cup finals.
As Voronkov arrived for his first North American season, it seemed safe to assume he could make it in the NHL as a bottom six forward. We knew he could bring physicality. In training camp and preseason, it didn’t appear that he had much more. He didn’t make the team to start the season, so went to Cleveland for four games.
By the time he debuted with Columbus in late October, he made an immediate impact. Even as the team struggled, he thrived with 5/7/12 in his first 19 games. By the end of the season, he was third on the team in goals (18), tenth in assists (16), and fifth in points (34). All this despite playing just 13:27 per game.
He ranks well among other rookies around the league, too. He is fifth in goals (just 4 behind Connor Bedard) and, remarkably, first among rookies in power play goals (6).
What impressed me most about Voronkov wasn’t his size (though it’s amazing to see a hockey player built like a tight end, towering over everyone else on ice), but how good his puck skills were. He was capable of some incredible passes, especially as he developed instant chemistry with countrymates Chinakhov and Kirill Marchenko. The Troika, or Globetrotters, were the forward trio that played the most together of any combo on the Jackets this season. Their underlying numbers weren’t great, but they had enough puck luck to be very productive. Among the 54 lines in the NHL with at least 250 minutes together, they were 10th in GF%, at 61.9. They combined for 13 goals in 262 minutes.
2023-24 Stats
Games: 75
Goals: 18
Assists: 16
Points: 34
Plus/Minus: -6
PIM: 52
5v5 Corsi%: 49.17
5v5 Fenwick%: 49.15
Off Zone Start %: 60.26
Faceoff %: 42.2
Contract
Voronkov has one year remaining on his two-year entry-level contract signed last year. He has a $925k cap hit and will be a restricted free agent next summer.
High Point
There were a lot of great moments for Voronkov, but let’s go with his only multi-goal game, which came in a gutsy, come-from-behind shootout win against the streaking Vancouver Canucks. The first showed the advantage of his size, as he parked in front of the net during the power play and got a tip-in. The second showed his skill, as he scored a wrap-around from behind the net.
Low Point
Voronkov’s NHL debut on October 26 in Montreal was one to remember, but mostly not for good reasons. He did score an assist on a power play, but also had nine penalty minutes while only playing 8:21.
It was fun watching him fight Arber Xhekaj, at least (after a really bad hit by Voronkov). This is for you, stinerman!
He was third on the Blue Jackets in PIM for the season, behind just Erik Gudbranson and Mathieu Olivier. Some of these were weak calls, with refs assuming the worst because of the size disparity, and how the aftermath of normal hits can look when delivered by someone that strong. He did improve a bit in the second half of the season and hopefully he will continue to work on his discipline, while the referees also become more familiar with him, and understand that he’s not a dirty player.
Report Card
A-
There are still things for Voronkov to work on (discipline, faceoffs, defense) but you can’t ask for much more from a first season in North America. A power forward that can pass and shoot well enough to helm a skill line is quite a luxury. I say keep that Russian line together as the second line next season and just let them cook.