(Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
But thanks to Lombardi’s scouting staff, he knew it was not as big a risk as other teams thought.
“This is a tribute to our scouts, these guys did a lot of digging, Michael Futa and Mark Yanetti [Kings Co-Directors of Amateur Scouting],” said Lombardi.
“This kid will come and play where we tell him. There’s still a risk, but they did a lot of digging and we knew [Voynov and Loktionov] would come to North America, they hadn’t signed the documents and they would stay here after the draft.”
“This is what I’m talking about when your scouts start to function as a team and know where to dig,” added Lombardi.
“We knew [Voynov] wasn’t going to back to Russia period, which is huge. That’s why we even stepped up and took him with [the 32nd overall pick] in the second round, which is still a pretty high pick.
"I think most people thought they could get him in the third [round] just because of all the Russian stigma.”
Voynov, along with defenseman prospect Andrew Campbell, who was also selected in the 2008 draft (third round, 74th overall), were standouts with the Monarchs last season.
“To [Voynov’s] credit, he was pretty good,” said Lombardi. “He and Campbell were the biggest surprises because I thought Campbell was going to go back to junior, too. Same thing. He stepped right in there and played.
"Our defense down there was very young. When Hickey got down there, we had four kids who were 20 years old.”
“Our only [defenseman] prospect there when I got here was Richard Petiot,” added Lombardi. “Now we have four or five down there and obviously, we’re young up here too.”
Lombardi may have also found a late-round gem in Loktionov (photo at left, courtesy Ontario Hockey League), who won the Memorial Cup (championship of Canadian junior hockey) this past season with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.
“Loktionov...this is a classic case where he might’ve been ready for the American league, but probably not,” said Lombardi. “But the biggest thing I loved about Loktionov, I knew he was going to a good junior team and it was the perfect place for him to get acclimated.
"This is the thing, even with Voynov, that you always go through with the Russians. They have to learn the language, they have to learn to be a teammate and they have to learn the North America culture and psyche.”
“Windsor...we knew they were going to have a good team and with [former Kings winger] Warren Rychel and Bob Boughner and the program they run there, you will become North American-ized in a hurry if you can last there,” added Lombardi.
Despite some early season struggles, Loktionov responded well.
“To see him grow, to see him early in the year—I’d go there, he was barely speaking the language, wasn’t smiling much, it was a whole new change for him,” Lombardi explained. “He had some bad habits on the ice, wasn’t always being a teammate, he was showing some selfish things with the puck. But they broke him.”
“I remember I went in there three times and each time, not only was I seeing him physically mature like he’s growing right in front of you, but his whole body language, how he conducted himself on the ice, how he was off the ice, interacting with people, laughing and smiling and then going out and winning that Memorial Cup is huge,” Lombardi added. “I remember we were talking to him during the Memorial Cup, ‘this is big. This is the biggest tournament you will ever play in.’”
“That’s not usually the case for a European. The Memorial Cup is huge in Canada. It’s the prelude to the Stanley Cup. For him to go through that is tremendous for his development and he’s a really talented player.”
Despite selecting him in the fifth round, Lombardi is high on Loktionov.
“If you look in terms of hockey intelligence...his hockey IQ is probably one of the higher ones on our reserve list,” said Lombardi.
“He’s a guy who sees the rink, makes the right play and doesn’t overdo it. Like a lot of Europeans he could probably stand to shoot more. But his understanding of the game is right up there with the top players on our reserve list.”
Lombardi said that Loktionov reminds him of a bit of another Russian player from years gone by.
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