Kirill Petrov

History

2007-08: Kirill Petrov further built on this success, skating the entire season with Kazan’s senior team in the Super League and also continuing to hold a leading role on Russia’s U18 squad, earning the silver medal at his second U18 World Junior Championships. Petrov has shown mixed results in Russia, as he put up lackluster numbers last season with Ak Bars Kazan but excelled at the 2008 U-18 World Junior Championships. In Super League play, Petrov only registered 13 points in 55 games with Ak Bars Kazan during the 2007-08 season. However, he dominated at the WJC by recording seven points in six games. Petrov also came away with the “Best Forward” award and was named to the WJC All-Star Team.

2008-09: Kirill suited up with Ak Bars for only six games, scoring a goal with the KHL Club as they would win the KHL Championship. He would also play for Russia at the World Juniors, unable to register a point with the team en route to a Bronze Medal.

2009-10: In eight games with Ak Bars, Krill would be held off the scoresheet, again winning the KHL Championship. He would again dress for the Russian team at the World Juniors, scoring four goals and six assists in six games.

2010-11: Petrov saw increased ice time after going from defending Gagarin Cup champion Kazan Ak-Bars to Kharlamov Division rival Khanty-Mansiysk Yugra in the KHL. Petrov was scoreless in two games before going to Yugra. In 47 games with the third-place club he scored 8 goals with 11 assists and was +4 with 20 PMs. In six playoff games for Khanty-Mansiysk he scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was +2 with 8 PMs. His four points tied for second amongst Yugra scorers.

2011-12: Petrov returned to Kazan and scored a career-high 16 goals with 13 assists in 52 games for Ak Bars in his third full KHL season. He was minus-three with 8 penalty minutes as Ak Bars finished third in the Kharlamov Division. Petrov scored 3 goals with 2 assists and was minus-three with 8 penalty minutes in 12 playoff games as Kazan reached the East Conference semifinals.

 

Talent Analysis

Petrov has size, speed and skill. Standing at 6’3 and almost 200 pounds, the young forward is hard to knock off the puck and can deliver an impressive physical presence, if properly motivated. Still, he needs to better utilize his size and play better physically, as he is still not fully aware of his size and the ability that comes with it. In regards to his speed, Petrov is a very strong skater with impressive quickness. He is also a capable puck handler and when combining lal three elements of size, speed and skill, Petrov is capable of making the most with very little room. Beyond his soft touch, Petrov also sees the ice well, but does need to further step up his game to make quick and reliable decisions, since at times he tends to make errant passes under pressure. Even his errant passes tend to generate from some good ideas, but they are dangerous for his team and can at times make costly turnovers. Another significant development area for Petrov is his defensive play, as he tends to float and wait for a breakout instead of falling back and using his physicality to help out his teammates. Overall, Petrov is an impressive and tempting package of physical presence, skating ability and soft hands, but who needs to further improve his defensive play and his decisionmaking.

 

Future

Petrov is back in Kazan with Ak Bars for the 2012-13 season.