[jimotis4heisman]

kris russell 5-10 177lbs (some have him listed at 5-9 160 still)
pos: dman
shoots: l
born 5-87 (19)
pick 67th by cbj
current team: medicine hat tigers of the whl (candian hockey league [jrs])
http://whl.ca/en/stats/player.php?id=23310
what youve got: a little guy who is offensively minded. cut from the mold of
what they are calling the "new nhl dman" he is a ittle guy who posses huge offensive upside as seen in his numbers. though that being said he has shown a level of fearlessness that you have to like. in the world jrs he played very very well and has done so this winter in a few international competitions.

playing style: feisty and competitive are the two words you hear a lot of. he has the ability to control the game, words like hockey awareness and uncanny sense are thrown around a lot with kris. when russell spent some time up in columbus earier this year during camp i noticed how he plays at different paces, sometimes he attacks sometimes he sits back. kind of puts the offensive guy offbalance.


what ive heard from people out there: if he was two inches taller and 20lbs heavier he would have been a sure fire 1st rounder. but that being said he playes like hes bigger than he is. hes a gritty kid who blocks shots and plays hard. plays well on both ends of the ice, but will really scrape and fight on the boards in front of the net.


stats:
yr/games/goals/assists/pts/ +-/penalty mins
03-04/55/4/15/19/-1/30
04-05/72/26/35/61/+29/37
05-06/55/14/33/47/+8/18
06-07/54/29/32/61/+9/50

all with mh tigers of the whl.


where he projects: probably youd say 3-5 dman in the nhl. with his size being the limiting factor. that being said max abilit is prob 2-3 (doubtful with his size he really ever could be a true first pairing dman) on the flip side id say 7th dman and ahl caliber player.

3/21 hf info

36. Kris Russell, D - Columbus Blue Jackets

It has been another banner year Kris Russell, who earned his second gold medal with Team Canada's WJC squad. One of five returnees to the squad from last year's blue line, the puck-moving defenseman tied the highly-touted Jonathan Toews for the team lead in goals with four. Russell has been an offensive dynamo with the Medicine Hat Tigers, notching a league-high 32 goals among defensemen and 68 points (placing him second). Coupled with his uncanny offensive awareness, Russell has heart and leadership that are far and away larger than his small frame. Russell has been the captain of the Medicine Hat squad for two seasons, and coupled with his important roles in international play, this has shaped the 5'10 blueliner into one of the top prospects among defensemen in any league. In spite of his small stature, Russell has shown a fearless competitive spirit, and will have to continue his tenacious play to make up for his lack of size in the professional game.

edit 3/23 named first team all star all whl (unanimous)

http://bluejackets.com/news/features/arts/3696.0.html

*Kris Russell
^Blue Jackets 3rd pick, 67th overall, 2005 Entry Draft.
Western Hockey League Playoffs
Russell recorded an assist in the Medicine Hat Tigers 2-0 Game 7 victory over Red Deer in the first round of the WHL playoffs. In the seven game series, Russell had two goals and eight assists. In games four and six, Russell was named No. 2 star of the game and was named No. 3 star in game five. Medicine Hat advances to the second round of the playoffs, but must wait for other series to finish before it will know its next opponent.

5/2 http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=...ticleid=301910

The championship series in the WHL is also set, featuring Medicine Hat against defending champion Vancouver. The best-of-seven series will start Friday in Medicine Hat.
The Tigers bounced Calgary 4-1 in the Western Conference Final. Derek Dorsett, Columbus Blue Jacket property, was the star for the Tigers, notching four goals and six points in the five games. For the playoffs, Dorsett has eight goals and 14 points in 11 games for the Tigers. He has scored at least one point in each of his past eight games.
Darren Helm and Kris Russell have been the big guns for Medicine Hat throughout the playoffs. Helm has 20 points, including nine goals, to sit third overall on the postseason scoring list. Russell, meanwhile, has 16 points, including a team-best 12 assists, in 16 outings.

russell named whl player of the year
http://bluejackets.com/news/press/arts/3739.0.html

5/20
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ne...2-eb6deb843778
hitch and his take on russell

Can diminutive Jackets prospect Kris Russell, captain of Medicine Hat, play in the NHL?"He's a special player. People talk about his size, but for me that's completely irrelevant. He does things transition-wise that no [junior] player can do."