Voronkov was a revelation when he came over from Russia two years ago. Sold to us as a physically imposing bottom 6 guy with some skill he has rapidly become a top line caliber player. “Voro” has surprisingly soft hands and is a tremendous net front player. He’s great at getting pucks off the wall and to his teammates in scoring chances and is a menace on the forecheck, deftly swatting clearing attempts or passes out of mid-air. Per Moneypuck, the Voronkov-Monahan-Marchenko line was one of the best in the regular season in the NHL. Of line combinations that played more than 200 minutes together at 5v5 they were in the top 20 in xG% and generated expected goals for at the 7th best rate, over 3.5 xG per 60 minutes.
Leading up to the stadium series, the What Chaos! guys become infatuated with Marchenko and Voronkov and set-up an interview with the Big Boss himself, translated by close friend Kirill.
2024-25 Stats
Goals: 23
Assists: 24
Points: 47
Plus/Minus: +17
PIM: 55
5v5 Corsi %: 51.0%
5v5 Fenwick %: 51.1%
5v5 O-Zone Start %: 58.5%
Contract
Voronkov is not currently under contract for this upcoming season. Last year was the last of the two year contract he signed when he came over from Russia carrying an AAV of 975K. It is safe to say he is due for a pay raise.
High Point
Once Voronkov made his way to the top line with Monahan it almost felt like the whole season was a high point. I’ll highlight the home game against Boston just after Christmas where Voronkov scored two goals, assisted another, and was on the ice for five goals for and zero against.
Low Point
Perhaps a touch unfair, but in Voro’s first game of the season (delayed due to injury) the Blue Jackets played the Winnipeg Jets and had perhaps their worst game of the season. It would have been reasonable to expect a slow start but Voronkov finished that game with a team low -3 and 1.76 xGA at 5v5 to fuel a 6.71 xG% in 13 minutes of ice time. Like everyone else in March there was a dip in production at a crucial time but his debut game was especially rough.
Alternatively, the low point could be when he stepped onto the ice to play a shift while he was technically serving a 10 minute game misconduct. Though I think that’s more a hilarious gaff in communication.
Report Card
A-
Another great year from the big guy even after starting late due to injury. There is still plenty of work to do in the d zone and his conditioning will continue to need work, but Voronkov was a key part of the offensive success of this team this year. Many, including Portzline every chance he gets, want to see him add more “snarl” to his game, this is most evident in his defensive game where he can become disengaged in his own zone. Voronkov had one of the highest OZ deployment rates on the team as Evason is well aware of his shortcomings and the value he provides in the O zone. He lead the team in power play goals but ultimately lost his spot on the top unit to the Captain during the Spring Struggles.
Hopefully Don Waddell can negotiate a long term contract to keep him around for many years to come, along with his translator Kirill Marchenko.