Artem Shlaine

March 2022 – Shlaine’s production has increased slightly this season, with 17 points in 36 games for UConn. This places him seventh on the team in scoring, and he’s been able to push himself into the top-six on an occasion or two. His next step is to become a mainstay on the team’s top-two lines and increase his production rate even further. Hadi Kalakeche

April 2021 – Shlaine has been struggling to maintain a decent level of scoring at the NCAA level as a freshman; he has only one goal and eight assists in 23 games and has not earned any more than a bottom-six role so far on an average program in Connecticut. Hopefully, he can find the right track next season, perhaps in a bigger role than the one he currently employs. Hadi Kalakeche

October 2020 – Shlaine is a great forward skater, with good technique and acceleration in his stride. He is able to put defenders on their heels with his hands as well, and can thread passes efficiently. His numbers at the High School prep level have plateaued slightly over the last two years (1.61 ppg in 2018-2019, 1.70 ppg in 2019-2020) and his underlying numbers in his six games in the USHL were decent, third in draft-year players for primary points per sixty minutes. Shlaine has concerns on the defensive side of the puck, the concerns being that he seems to think that the more things happen on the ice, the better. His focus is not on shot suppression or assisting the breakout; he relies on offense to drive his game, and if he manages to pan out, offense is likely all you will get from Shlaine. He is committed to UConn for his NCAA freshman year, due to start in November. A long term project, but in the sixth round, any pick with a slight chance of becoming an elite playmaker is an interesting swing to take. Hadi Kalakeche