After taking Linus Eriksson in the second round, Matvei Shuravin in the third, and Simon Zether int the fourth, the Florida Panthers added a third forward to their prospect cupboard when they selected Stepan Gorbunov in the sixth round with the 169th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft.
The Cats traded their fifth-round pick (141st overall) to the Seattle Kraken for a sixth and seventh-rounder, and used the first of those two picks on Gorbunov, a towering 6′-5″ project who is considered a potential late-round steal.
During his draft season, Gorbunov appeared in 40 MHL games for Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk and finished with 10 goals and 22 points to catch the eye of Bill Zito and his scouting staff..
Last season, Gorbunov got off to a lightning fast start against his peer group, producing six goals and 11 points in eight games to earn a promotion to Chelmet Chelyabinsk of the VHL.
In 48 games with Chelmet, he collected 11 goals and 25 points, which put him sixth on the team in scoring. Not too shabby for a 18-year-old. He also appeared in six postseason games and collected one assist.
He played in one additional MHL contest with Belye Medvedi and drew two helpers, giving him a stat line of six goals and 13 points in nine games. He also appeared in four playoff games with the team and was credited with one assist.
Gorbunov made a appearance at Florida’s development camp this summer and after going back to Russia, has earned another promotion. Playing with parent club Traktor, he scored a goal against HC Sochi and collected an assist versus Amur in the recent Chelyabinsk Governor’s Cup and has opened the regular season on the club’s KHL roster, going pointless in two games over the weekend.
The hulking forward, who can also play defense, took a huge stride forward last season, quickly (and unexpectedly) making the jump from the MHL to the VHL. His 25 points in Russian’s second-best league was second-most among his age group. Gorbunov has good hands and with his huge wing span, is highly adept at protecting the puck. If he can build on his performance from last year, he could spend the entire season in the KHL.