Washington Capitals 2022 NHL Mock Draft: Danila Yurov taken with No. 20th overall pick

With the 20th pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals will select Danila Yurov, a right winger from Magnitogorsk of the KHL.

Corey Pronman of The Athletic had that in his mock draft and wrote this (subscription required):

"Around this part of the draft is where I expect the Yurov discussions to begin to get serious. He is considered a top 10 player in the draft amongst most scouts but playing in Russia will likely lower his stock significantly. He’d make a lot of sense for contenders with aging cores like Washington or Pittsburgh, who if they can get him over quick enough can try to keep their contending windows open a little longer."

EPR Rinkside said, “He is a strong skater, proficient at reading the ice to find open space and then attacking it. Nice of skill, strength, and shooting.”

Draftin Europe added, “Strong skating and good puck protection… tough to handle when given space to rush down the wing.”

Yurov previously played for the Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk of the MHL and had 13 goals and 23 assists for 36 points in 23 games while also appearing in 21 KHL games. He had one goal in two MHL playoff games.

In the previous season in the MHL, Yurov had 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points and one goal in 21 KHL games. In the playoffs he had a combined three goals in six games between the two leagues.

Despite not a lot of production, he is a top prospect that’s worth watching. Like Pronman writes, his stock does go down because of where he’s from but the Caps are well stocked on Russians and have shown over the years their track record of drafting them.

The draft will be held from July 7th through the 8th at the Bell Centre in Montreal. There will be plenty of stories and other mock drafts in the coming weeks.