The Flyers dropped some June 1st news, and while it won't spoil any potential Eagles moves, it is intriguing for Flyers fans, especially ones who are closely following the progression of their draft picks.
The Flyers announced the signing of their 2024 sixth-round pick, Ilya Pautov, who has spent his most recent seasons playing in the Russian major junior league, the MHL, and the VHL, Russia's second-highest professional league.
This year, at 19 years of age, he played 30 games for CSKA Red Army Jr. Team, producing 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) during his regular season stint, and another 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 9 playoff games. For Moscow Zvezda in the VHL, he had just 5 points (1 goal, 4 assists) in 25 games.
Now, while that number seems low, you'd have to translate it to North American terms. That would be like a 19-year-old playing in the AHL. Which is something that basically can not happen without very specific circumstances.
The 5'10, 165-pound forward started his junior career at 16. In the 140 games total that he played, he scored 46 goals and 73 assists for 119 points, while being a plus player and totaling 60 penalty minutes. He's been a productive player throughout despite his small stature.
You also have to think about how far the Flyers have come in their time. A player drafted from the Red Army Jr team? The kid version of the team that tried to bail mid-game against the Broad Street Bullies, only to be stopped by Ed Snider, who then basically put a moratorium on Russian players after that.
Instead, Pautov becomes the second Russian player in recent years to sign his ELC with the Flyers (the other being Matvei Michkov), and it seems as though highly anticipated Yegor Zavragin might be hot on his heels. They also traded for Nikita Grebenkin who played his first full season with the club and have Aleksei Kolosov, a Belarusian, who has made appearances with the Flyers the last two seasons.
It is also continuing the trend of signing picks from the 2024 draft class. Of the 7 picks the Flyers made, 5 of them have now signed their ELCs so far. Pautov joins Jack Berglund, Spencer Gill, Jett Luchanko, and Noah Powell in the pro ranks officially.
Now it remains to be seen just what happens with Pautov. He's looked good in the Russian ranks, but the North American style of hockey is much different. We've seen players like Grebenkin and Michkov need to make adjustments, and they were both first-round picks. Pautov is smaller and not nearly as highly touted as either of those players so his progression as a prospect is going to be slower.
He likely won't be a player earmarked for NHL minutes this season or next, but he is one that we'll be curious about, especially once he shows up on North American ice. Until then, he becomes the Flyers first signing of the new league year.
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