Given his standing as the second-most highly rated defenseman in most pre-draft rankings, the chances of Russian defenseman Ivan Provorov being available at the 14th pick for the Boston Bruins isn’t likely at all.
But strange things can happen at the NHL Draft, and Provorov did sit down for an interview with the Bruins management group during the NHL scouting combine. The 18-year-old Russian played with the Brandon Wheat Kings this season, and dominated Canadian junior hockey with 15 goals and 61 points in 60 games this past season after starring in the USHL the prior season.
This came after Provorov moved from Russia to Pennsylvania at 14 years old, and immersed himself completely into the North American game, and the language and culture that marches hand-in-hand with it.
“It was just to get used to the game, and the culture, and the language,” said Provorov. “It only took me three or four months to get comfortable, and then I was in US school for the next years after that.”
So this isn’t the typical Russian prospect where language issues, or the KHL for that matter, seem to be much of a problem during draft consideration.
He’s a quick passer, a swift skater and boasts an excellent shot, and an excellent quarterback on the power play. Provorov may even be a higher end offensive D-man than the top-rated Noah Hanifin, but the Boston College blueliner does project to be more of a well-rounded defenseman at both ends of the ice.
Either way, Provorov is likely to be selected right behind Hanifin and directly in front of defenseman like Thomas Chabot, Jakub Zboril, Zach Werenski with some divided about whether Provorov or Werenski will be the second name called after Hanifin. He’s excited to join any team as a surefire first-round selection, and might even be ready to jump right into an NHL lineup. It’s just not likely to be the Bruins should Provorov rate as highly as scouts are purporting him to be ahead of the NHL Draft at the BB&T Center.