Ilya Kvochko is a quick playmaking center who is able to create in the offensive zone due to his elusiveness and a high motor. He plays with an abundance of energy. He is a very strong passer who is able to make difficult dishes in the offensive zone due to his high-end vision with the puck on his stick. He can recognize passing lanes into high-danger areas of the ice and is capable of delivering difficult passes off both his forehand and backhand to find teammates for scoring opportunities. He is a shifty player who is able to spin off and evade pressure due to his edgework and agility. He shows good control in tight and is able to cradle the puck to change angles on defenders and goaltenders to open up both passing and shooting lanes. His straight-line speed is relatively average – especially for a player his size. His stride is short and at times somewhat choppy, limiting his overall acceleration. He is an undersized forward, to say the least, who can struggle to find and win space against larger opponents. However, his workmanlike attitude while attacking in the offensive zone allows him to at times extend play below the goal line or fight his way in close to the goal mouth. He is an excellent passer, but lacks dual-threat ability to his below-average shot. He struggles to get enough velocity on his shot to beat netminders from medium range, and is only able to score when shooting pucks from in tight to the goalmouth. He will need to add strength, more straight-line speed, and improve his shooting to become a meaningful pro contributor, but his ability as a passer and his motor leave room for optimism that Kvochko could become a depth contributor with power play upside at the NHL level.

– FCHockey’s 2022 NHL Draft Guide