2024 T25U25: Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is #20

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Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (SDA from now on to save finger strain) is back on the Top 25, despite being under contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk for this upcoming season. 20th isn't too far off for him though; he was 19th last season, and 21st the year before.

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev	Vitals
Age as of July 1	23.79
Position	C/W
Height	5'11"
Weight (lbs)	171
Shoots	R
Draft Year	2018
Draft Number	76

The Player

SDA came to North America to play in the OHL, where he would play for the Peterborough Petes for four seasons, including the 2019-20 year the Petes were looking at a championship before the COVID-19 pandemic shut it down. However, he did join the Leafs former ECHL team, the Newfoundland Growlers, for a couple games after his OHL season was over, and stuck with them all the way to the Kelly Cup championship in 2019.

He played out his entry level contract with the Marlies, Growlers, and one Maple Leafs game. His final season in North America saw him score 40 points in 50 games, a good rate for a player his size in the AHL.

Moving to a top level league in Russia, the KHL, he maintained his development towards becoming a top six forward, where he looked to be headed with the underperforming Toronto Marlies before he left. 17 goals, 17 assists in the KHL at 23 is quality work, but nothing to make you stand up and demand the Leafs get him back right away.

Moving to the KHL has put him off almost everyone's radar. the last video of him uploaded was from his last season with the Marlies, and any recent articles about him sum him up as "left for Russia, Leafs retain his rights". To be quite honest, I had no idea he left for the KHL. I did say I was working off guesswork.

The Votes

From 11th to "Pass" SDA has the voters split wider than a 7-10. As I've said, I like him, but playing in the KHL last season and next kept him down below 20 for me.

Voter	Vote
Cathy	11
Brian	NA
Species	16
Adam	22
Hardev	NA
dhammm	11
Cameron S	NA
Hound Line	21
brysplace	20
Catch-67	16
Sclodiggity	25
shinson93	15
The Bag	NA
Zone Entry	NA
Weighted Average	20.5
Highest Vote	11
Lowest Vote	25

Five people didn't want him on their lists. Three had him in the top 15. When you aren't rebuilding as a franchise, it gets harder to make these lists.

The Opinions

dhammm: Is SDA's explosive KHL production a reflection of the decline in quality of the KHL or is it a reflection of SDA's skill relative to those other maybe-depth pieces on this ranking? Yes. So it would have been interesting to see SDA continue to stick it out in the minors. I group him with Steeves and Tverberg, two other forwards in the depth-pro tier.

Brigstew: After I ranked my top 10 or so, who are all the prospects I think have any realistic shot of making the NHL, the next 15 or so were all ranked based off vibes. The short answer for why I didn’t rank SDA at all is because… I just can’t bring myself to care about him at all. 

Cathy: If he were on the Marlies, he'd be ranked. Likely very high. So I ranked him as if he were.

Sclodiggity: I liked following SDA and had high-ish hopes for him but his age and moving to Russia makes the likelihood of contributing in the NHL too low. His skill level warrants a higher ranking.

Catch-67: I think SDA would be a AAAA player were he still in NA, and he’d probably get in a handful of games with the Leafs, and maybe become a regular depth player on the Leafs or elsewhere. I highly doubt most players on this list get there, and with that in mind, I think I probably ranked him too low. That said, it’s pretty hard to imagine he ever gets to be that NHL depth player, so I get why he wasn’t included on so many voters’ lists. 

shinson93:  Included him as my “measuring stick” vote, marking the level of where I see a prospect as a “maybe” rather than “everyone else”.. 

Hound Line: If you rate players purely on skill, he's better than a handful of guys ahead of him but his play away from the puck makes him tweener. While he’s able to generate chances with his shiftiness and creativity, he lacks high-end NHL skill. His below average forechecking, defence and board play make him a poor fit as bottom-six wing.

To me, SDA was a prospect people got excited about when drafted - he seems to permanently look 15 - and was one of the small players Kyle Dubas was stereotyped into being a fan of. As others have said, he's got the skill to stick with the Marlies and be an injury call up for the Leafs. He probably doesn't want to be that however. Hockey is a passion, but for him it's also a job, and when you're working a job that lasts just a fraction of what others will, you have to chase the paycheque while you can.

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