Vinogradov is an active, energetic goaltender who is very dialed in when he’s between the pipes. Plays on high alert, keeping his hands and feet ready and moving, and displays superb quick-twitch reflexes. Does a good job of looking around traffic to keep track of the play. His head movements are incredibly frenetic at times, but in a really good and controlled way, as he always wants to know exactly where every opposing forward is on the ice and how much of a threat they pose. He’ll check one opponent near his crease, look away from a moment, and then quickly check back to make sure the situation didn’t change. Being able to keep an going mental log of where everyone is can be a huge advantage. He is assertive and a little unorthodox with his poke checks when the puck gets close to his crease, which could catch opponents by surprise if they bring the puck too close to him. Has some height to his frame, though he’s not very filled in yet. However, he does seem to make himself small in his net at times when he drops into the butterfly. You would also like to see him increase the size of his equipment. Positioning needs work, as he’ll over-commit moving post to post, but at the same time not quite eject forward as far as he should to challenge shooters. Whiffs with his glove hand right now more than you’d like to see. Spent a good chunk of his season at the VHL level, and it would be good for his development if he can stick there next season. If an NHL team wants to take on a long-term project in the weeds of the 2021 draft they could certainly do a lot worse than Vinogradov, who has a solid foundation to build upon.

– FCHockey’s 2021 NHL Draft Guide