Thanks to everyone who voted for this year’s Top 25 Under 25 ranking. We had almost 100 submissions from Columbus Blue Jackets fans. Stay tuned as we count down the 25 highest voted players for the next month. Today, 17th ranked Dmitri Voronkov.
Dmitri Voronkov
Voting
17th out of 40 eligible players
Writer Rank: 17
Reader Rank: 18
Highest placement: 10 (2 votes)
Most common placement: 18 (9 votes)
2022 Rank: 16
Biography
Birthdate: Sept. 10, 2000
Birthplace: Angarsk, Russia
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 190lbs
Position: C/W
Shoots: Left
Acquired: Drafted by the Blue Jackets in Round 4 (114th overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft
2021-22 Season
Voronkov did more of the same last year. Meaning he played a physical, straight forward, honest game. His numbers unfortunately didn’t really improve upon his previous season where he showed much promise, including a great playoff run. In 38 games this season, Voronkov put up 12 points (7G, 5A) to go along with 36 PIMs. In 6 playoff appearances, Voronkov had but a single assist. He did miss some time this year due to injury after a high hit knocked him out of lineup and sent him to the hospital.
It’s pretty hard to keep tabs on prospects playing in Russia, so here is game at a glance this past year.
Voronkov has been really strong in some specific categories. Very high shot volume, tons of successful dekes with pretty good success rate, carries the puck a lot to the OZ, draws a lot of penalties (but also takes a ton himself). #CBJ https://t.co/Sp34rGx8Ud pic.twitter.com/AqYRFfyAJz
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) January 26, 2022
2022-23 Forecast
Voronkov will fulfill his contractual obligations to Ak Bars this season, and after that we can expect him to make the jump to North America. Hopefully in his final season in Russia, he can grow the offensive part of the game and really become that two-way power forward the team can really use. It’s worth watching to see if Voronkov gets the “Marchenko treatment” during his final season in Russia.
While he will never be a high scoring, offensive juggernaut, the hope is that he can fill a middle-six role providing toughness, grit and some complimentary scoring. He could still very well fill out that role, but the road to the NHL has gotten a little more crowded for Voronkov.