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| Name: Anton Babchuk |
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| Position: D |
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| Shoots: Right |
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| Height: 6-5 |
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| Weight: 202 lbs |
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| Birthdate: 1984-05-06 |
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| Hometown: Kiev, Ukraine |
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| Acquired: 1st rd, #21 overall 2002 draft |
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Anton Babchuk
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| Talent Analysis At 6’5" Anton Babchuk has an imposing frame. He has started to fill in, increasing his weight to 200 pounds. He has already developed a nasty physical edge to his game and likes to throw checks. A strong positional player and shot blocker, he is able to keep the opponents in front of him. For a guy his stature, he is a solid skater with good speed and above average lateral movement, but will need to get quicker and anchor better to be a big leaguer. He is also a very effective power play quaterback, owning a cannon of a shot maybe one of the hardest point shots of all defensemen in the 2002 draft. It still isn't the most accurate though. His passing on the power play and in offensive rushes is very creative. The concern is in the defensive zone, where he seems to have to slow down to a snail's pace to make the correct outlet pass, thinking as opposed to naturally reacting to game situations. This is what contributed to his dropping in the draft along with so many teams just looking for offensive forwards after the top defensmen were taken. He attended the UPMC hockey training program near Pittsburgh in the US, getting exposure to North American culture and style of hockey. His physical and offensive minded brand of hockey will carry over well to the NHL. Pronger is one player in the USA he apsires to play like. Whether he will be able to reach that level is a stretch at this point. He did show in the 2002 preseason he could throw a heck of big time body-check, sometimes preoccupied with the hit over the play going on around him. |
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| Future Babchuk is expected to spend the 2002-03 season in Russia with Ak Bars Kazan in the Super League. This will be a positive step for him, who has not yet competed at the Super League level, spending the last season Elemash Elektrostal in the Upper League. In the Blackhawk July prospect camp, he showed that he played tough but needed seasoning and muscle to be added to his already established positive work ethic. He is not NHL ready, and will definitely benefit from the additional season with Ak Bars before making a run for a spot in the Blackhawks lineup. The fact that he signed an NHL contract might be readying him for a jump to North America in the AHL unless he somehow manages to carve a place out for himself on a Blackhawk defense that needs a skilled big man. |
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| Stats Stats Coming Soon! |