Excerpt from RussianProspects.com scouting report on Nikita Filatov:
Scout 1: A flashy, exciting winger with excellent skating abilities…has already declared that he wants to play in North America as soon as possible…is fluent in English…effortless skater with great acceleration and excellent top-speed…is agile on skates, with or without the puck…avoids physical play, but is improving…has enough strength to play against men, even if he could and should gain some mass…he can play hard if he wants to, just this isn’t his style…works hard all the shifts…has to work on the defensive side, but is not one dimensional…doesn’t avoid to play through the traffic…great hands, fine stick handling…good puck carrier through the neutral and offensive zone…great acceleration with the puck on the stick, very effective on counter attacks and breakaway…extremely good hockey sense, he effectively move on the ice and sees well his line mates…good passing ability, not a playmaker, but can give the puck right on the tape…quick, strong wrist shot, snaps the shot very well too…doesn’t use too much the slapper…has all the tools to be a NHL star winger, his suitability to the North American play his one of his best assets