2022 NHL Draft: Devils Pick Artem Barabosha at 198th Overall in the 7th Round

At 198th overall, the New Jersey Devils selected defenseman Artem Barabosha from Krasnaya Armiya Moskva in the MHL (Russian juniors). According to his Elite Prospects profile, Barabosha is a 6’2”, 190 lbs. right-handed shooting defenseman from Omsk, Russia. He was born on March 18, 2004 thus making him 18 years old. He played his youth hockey with Avangard Omsk before transferring to the CSKA Moskva system in 2019. Since then he’s played his way up the U16, U17, and U18 levels. He made his MHL debut for Krasnaya Armiya Moskva in 2020-21 with 17 games. Last season, he had 4 goals and 7 assists for 11 points in 45 MHL regular season games along with a +18 and 16 PIM. In the playoffs he had 3 assists, -2, and 41 PIM in 19 games. Prior to last season, he had an assist, +5, and 2 PIM in 5 games for Russia’s U18 team as they won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Given that he was on that team and plays in the CSKA system, it’s clear that a lot of people in Russian hockey value his potential.

Here is what Steve Kournianos had to say about the pick:

Here is Barabosha laying a huge hit on Juraj Slafkovsky in the gold medal game of the Hlinka Gretzky Cup:

Here’s a profile of Barabosha from Colin Newby of The Hockey Writers where he noted Barabosha is a physical, stay-at-home defenseman, that has the ability to shoot the puck from the point. He noted that Barabosha needs to work on his skating agility and transition skills.

Next, over at Draft Prospects Hockey, Alex Taxman had this to say about Barabosha back in January in their Diamonds in the Rough series:

“He’s a sizable, mobile defenseman who’s always looking to move the puck up the ice. His skills start with a strong skating foundation, with a long, powerful stride. Barabosha is a fantastic puck carrier in transition, using head fakes and shoulder dips to create space for himself. It’s not uncommon for him to take the puck end to end by himself multiple times in one game at the MHL level. On defense, Barabosha boasts a very strong defensive stick and a punishing physical game. He will not allow forwards to beat him to the inside, and does a great job keeping the puck on the perimeter of the ice. Barabosha plays a rover game in the offensive zone, he follows the puck constantly, looking for holes and lanes to jump down into. His passing game is also notable, he’s got the ability to hit small pockets, find teammates in stride, and execute long stretch passes. Overall, Barabosha can be described as a strong, two-way defenseman with bottom four NHL potential.”

My quick, initial reaction is that Barabosha seems to be a fine pick to make in the 7th round, though I was surprised to see the Devils draft a 5th defenseman today. I like that Barabosha plays a physical style and has experience at the top level of junior hockey in Russia and with their U18 team. He seems to be valued by considering he transferred into the CSKA system. I think their could be some untapped potential and I am interested in seeing how his development plays out over the next few seasons.

That is my initial reaction to the Devils selecting Artem Barabosha. I’ll keep adding more information about Artem Barabosha to this post as the day goes on. For now, I want to know your reaction to the pick. Please vote in the flash poll that will end tonight. What do you think of Artem Barabosha as a prospect? Do you agree with taking them at 198th? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!