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<p>There&#8217;s value to be had in all rounds of the NHL Draft, even late in the proceedings. In the case of the Calgary Flames, that principle is abundantly clear in the form of goaltender Dustin Wolf, selected late in the seventh round in 2019. But blueliner Ilya Solovyov, a seventh-round pick from 2020, has also provided some good value.</p>
<p>Originally from Mogilev, Belarus, Solovyov isn&#8217;t flashy by any means. A bit of a throwback, he&#8217;s listed at 6&#8217;3&#8243; and 207 pounds. As the modern blueliner has become smaller, leaner and faster – with their games focused on speed and puck movement – Solovyov is more of a stay-at-home, two-way brusier, a Belarusian Robyn Regehr, if you will.</p>
<p>Solovyov landed on the NHL radar during the 2019-20 season, when he suited up with the Ontario Hockey League&#8217;s Saginaw Spirit as an import player. Based on his progression and potential, he was selected by the Flames at 205th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, his third season of draft eligibility.</p>
<p>But the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic complicating visa situations for international players and his OHL status – he would have eaten up both an overage slot and an import slot for Saginaw – Solovyov played the 2020-21 season with the KHL&#8217;s Dynamo Minsk. Solovyov carved out a nice depth niche for himself, playing as a regular as a 20-year-old in a strong league.</p>
<p>Solovyov signed an entry-level deal with the Flames in 2021 and joined their farm system. He was adequate if unspectacular depth in 2021-22 as he adjusted to the league, but he really found his game in 2022-23 playing alongside veteran Nick DeSimone. More importantly, Solovyov maintained that level of playing – and at times exceeded it – in 2023-24 after DeSimone&#8217;s departure, serving as a tough-minutes defender to open up more advantageous offensive situations for the likes of Jeremie Poirier. Solovyov&#8217;s use of his size, smarts and positioning earned him three separate recalls to the NHL. He made his NHL debut in October, and his second game was the 2023 Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium.</p>
<p>Solovyov ended up playing 10 NHL games in 2023-24, playing on the third pairing and the penalty kill, and showed quite a bit of promise, particular on his third and final recall of the season.</p>
<h1>Exceeding expectations</h1>
<p>Solovyov&#8217;s been really effective over the past two seasons, but the X-factor for his NHL prospects this season (and beyond) will be the performance and development of Artem Grushnikov. Like Solovyov, Grushnikov is a meat-and-potatoes defensive defender, and like Solovyov he&#8217;s a left shot. Solovyov is three years older than Grushnikov, though, and so it would be reasonable to expect him to be a little bit ahead of Grushnikov in terms of development.</p>
<p>If Solovyov can maintain his effective play, maintain his spot in the pecking order ahead of Grushnikov, and match or exceed the number of NHL games (10) that he played in 2023-24, that would probably be exceeding expectations for this season.</p>
<h1>Meeting expectations</h1>
<p>When you take into account Grushnikov&#8217;s emergence – he received a shout-out from head coach Ryan Huska at Saturday&#8217;s Bonfire season ticket members event for his strong camp – it&#8217;s a tall order to expect Solovyov to get 10 NHL games in again. The Flames will probably want to get Grushnikov some NHL games in order to reward his camp and assess his progress, which would probably come at Solovyov&#8217;s expense.</p>
<p>So in this context, if we see Solovyov appear at the NHL level in 2023-24, that would be meeting expectations for the Belarusian because that would mean he&#8217;s maintained his high level of play and given the Flames reasons to keep giving him NHL looks.</p>
<h1>Below expectations</h1>
<p>The thing that scouts like about Solovyov is his consistency. When he&#8217;s on his game, you can set your watch by the guy. But if he loses that consistency and gets passed on the depth chart by Grushnikov, that would be disappointing given how good Solovyov has shown he can be. If we don&#8217;t see Solovyov in the NHL in 2024-25, that would an indication that&#8217;s likely occurred, and that would be due to Solovyov falling short of expectations.</p>
<p><em><strong>What do you hope to see from Solovyov during the 2024-25 season? Let us know in the comments!<br />
</strong></em></p>
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<em class="text-lg italic">This article is brought to you by bet365.</em>

There's value to be had in all rounds of the NHL Draft, even late in the proceedings. In the case of the Calgary Flames, that principle is abundantly clear in the form of goaltender Dustin Wolf, selected late in the seventh round in 2019. But blueliner Ilya Solovyov, a seventh-round pick from 2020, has also provided some good value.

Originally from Mogilev, Belarus, Solovyov isn't flashy by any means. A bit of a throwback, he's listed at 6'3" and 207 pounds. As the modern blueliner has become smaller, leaner and faster – with their games focused on speed and puck movement – Solovyov is more of a stay-at-home, two-way brusier, a Belarusian Robyn Regehr, if you will.

Solovyov landed on the NHL radar during the 2019-20 season, when he suited up with the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit as an import player. Based on his progression and potential, he was selected by the Flames at 205th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, his third season of draft eligibility.

But the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic complicating visa situations for international players and his OHL status – he would have eaten up both an overage slot and an import slot for Saginaw – Solovyov played the 2020-21 season with the KHL's Dynamo Minsk. Solovyov carved out a nice depth niche for himself, playing as a regular as a 20-year-old in a strong league.

Solovyov signed an entry-level deal with the Flames in 2021 and joined their farm system. He was adequate if unspectacular depth in 2021-22 as he adjusted to the league, but he really found his game in 2022-23 playing alongside veteran Nick DeSimone. More importantly, Solovyov maintained that level of playing – and at times exceeded it – in 2023-24 after DeSimone's departure, serving as a tough-minutes defender to open up more advantageous offensive situations for the likes of Jeremie Poirier. Solovyov's use of his size, smarts and positioning earned him three separate recalls to the NHL. He made his NHL debut in October, and his second game was the 2023 Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium.

Solovyov ended up playing 10 NHL games in 2023-24, playing on the third pairing and the penalty kill, and showed quite a bit of promise, particular on his third and final recall of the season.
<h1>Exceeding expectations</h1>
Solovyov's been really effective over the past two seasons, but the X-factor for his NHL prospects this season (and beyond) will be the performance and development of Artem Grushnikov. Like Solovyov, Grushnikov is a meat-and-potatoes defensive defender, and like Solovyov he's a left shot. Solovyov is three years older than Grushnikov, though, and so it would be reasonable to expect him to be a little bit ahead of Grushnikov in terms of development.

If Solovyov can maintain his effective play, maintain his spot in the pecking order ahead of Grushnikov, and match or exceed the number of NHL games (10) that he played in 2023-24, that would probably be exceeding expectations for this season.
<h1>Meeting expectations</h1>
When you take into account Grushnikov's emergence – he received a shout-out from head coach Ryan Huska at Saturday's Bonfire season ticket members event for his strong camp – it's a tall order to expect Solovyov to get 10 NHL games in again. The Flames will probably want to get Grushnikov some NHL games in order to reward his camp and assess his progress, which would probably come at Solovyov's expense.

So in this context, if we see Solovyov appear at the NHL level in 2023-24, that would be meeting expectations for the Belarusian because that would mean he's maintained his high level of play and given the Flames reasons to keep giving him NHL looks.
<h1>Below expectations</h1>
The thing that scouts like about Solovyov is his consistency. When he's on his game, you can set your watch by the guy. But if he loses that consistency and gets passed on the depth chart by Grushnikov, that would be disappointing given how good Solovyov has shown he can be. If we don't see Solovyov in the NHL in 2024-25, that would an indication that's likely occurred, and that would be due to Solovyov falling short of expectations.

<em><strong>What do you hope to see from Solovyov during the 2024-25 season? Let us know in the comments!
</strong></em>
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