Winnipeg Jets Top 25 Under 25 – #25 Ivan Telegin

Previous Rank: #15

Ivan Telegin was once a highly thought of prospect. In fact, his point production development throughout junior closely resembles one of Jets more recent draft prospect, Scott Kosmachuk. His 0.417 NHL Equivalent points per game production in his final junior season (Draft+2) is surpassed only by Mark Scheifele's Draft+2, Nicolas Petan's Draft and Draft+1, Nikolaj Ehlers Draft, and Scott Kosmachuk's Draft+2 season; that's it for Jets prospects. This led to Ivan Telegin placing 10th for top players under 25 in 2012.

Despite being an imported Russian, Ivan Telegin’s preference for a North/South, Western-stylized hockey game made scouts predict Telegin to have a smooth transition into pro-level hockey. It was not to be though. Telegin started his professional career on a struggling IceCaps squad, where almost all of St. John’s forwards were shooting at nearly half their normal career shooting percentages. Telegin was limited to 3 goals and 7 assists over 34 games in the AHL. The forward’s season was cut short due to suffering from a severe concussion and Telegin fell to 15th for top players under 25 in 2013.

The next season presented Telegin a clean slate. He came back across the Atlantic for the Jets prospects camp and main training camp, willing and able. However, an eventual cut to the farm team -where Telegin suffered his severe concussion- caused PTSD-like symptoms to flare up. Telegin returned to Russia, was suspended by the Jets organization for a while, and was eventually loaned out to CSKA in the KHL. However, Telegin did not dress that year, with the season already well played out plus the re-aggravation of an old injury.

Telegin will be looking to return to professional hockey this year, joining the ranks of Jets in European pro-leagues: Alexander Burmistrov, Pavel Kraskovsky and Marcus Karlstrom. Telegin’s KHL contract takes him to the end of the 2015-16 season.

AIH Authors' Thoughts:

Tim:

When you combine elite speed, NHL size and production and you usually have a high caliber NHL prospect. Unfortunately for Telegin, the transition to pro-hockey has gone a little less than smooth. A rocky early start was exacerbated by a well-being threatening injury. A severe concussion left Telegin shelved for months. He missed the entirety of last season and has left North America and possibly left behind a once-promising career. There is a lot to like about this kid, but the huge element of unknown drops him well below where I’d rank him on pure skill.

Garret:

Telegin’s junior career was about equally promising as Scott Kosmachuk’s currently appears. However, things do not always occur in an optimal nature. Telegin once had all the tools to be a potential plus value middle six player but now he has a lot of questions. There’s already a ton of uncertainty with prospects’ chances of becoming a player in the the NHL. Adding a major concussion and KHL uncertainty into the mix doesn’t help.

While I want the best for the Jets, I also hope and wish all the best to Telegin.

Allan:

No doubt Telegin’s development curve has taken a huge hit with his concussion. Otherwise, he would likely be getting short-term callups regularly this upcoming season. This is reflected in his ranking, which easily could have been top 10 if it weren’t for the combination of injuries and risk that he never returns to North America. Hopefully he has a solid season in the KHL and makes his case for a return the following season.

Ryan:

Not sure what to say about Telegin. He was at one point a very good prospect who has been derailed due to injury. The post-concussion syndrome story is very unfortunate, and hopefully he can overcome it. As to whether or not the Jets will ever see him again on this side of the pond is anyone’s guess, but here is hoping.

Daniel:

Ivan Telegin is one of the Jets’ most interesting prospects. Scoring 35 goals and 64 points in his final 46 games in the OHL is the kind of production expected from a future NHL player, but then injury and concussion trouble struck in his first professional season and kept him off the ice for eight months. In addition, administrative problems forced Telegin to miss the entirety of the following season. That much missed time is troubling for a young player at this stage in his development.

Telegin possesses NHL size (6’3″, 200 lbs), strength, and skating, but plenty of questions remain. How much of Telegin’s junior success owed to his environment? Has he progressed or regressed after a year-and-a-half away from high-level hockey? How will he fare playing a full season against men? And can he play a full season? The 2014-15 season will be like a reset button for Telegin and there will plenty of eyes watching him, eager to see what he can do.

Related Links

2013 Top 25 Under 25 – #15 Ivan Telegin

Some Winnipeg Jets interviews translated – Ivan Telegin speaks up about his injury