Prospect Report: Sasha Pastujov
Jun 22, 2023By AJ Manderichio/SanDiegoGulls.com
When Anaheim Ducks and San Diego Gulls fans think of the 2021 draft class, Sasha Pastujov’s name may not immediately come to mind.
Mason McTavish and Olen Zellweger will steal the headlines, with the former finishing a solid rookie campaign in Anaheim and the latter making major moves in his final year of junior hockey. Some will mention both Josh Lopina and Gage Alexander, who Gulls fans saw this season at Pechanga Arena San Diego. Others may even discuss Tyson Hinds, who took home the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Best Defensive Defenseman (Kevin Lowe Trophy) after an outstanding 2022-23 season with Sherbrooke.
Overlook Pastujov, though, and you’re excluding one of the more dynamic offensive prospects in the team’s strong pipeline of future talent.
The third-round selection (66th overall) in the 2021 draft, Pastujov split his second season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) between the Guelph Storm and Sarnia Sting. He ranked fourth among all OHL skaters in points (41-57=98) and points per game (1.63), seventh in assists and ninth in goals in 60 games, setting career highs in points, goals, assists, and plus/minus. After scoring 34 goals in 2021-22, Pastujov is one of three OHL players to score 34 or more goals in each of the last two seasons at age 18 and 19 (also Peterborough’s Tucker Robertson and Francesco Arcuri, Kingston/Kitchener).
The Brandenton, Fl. native came out of the gates flying, beginning the 2022-23 season with 11-8=19 points in 14 games with Guelph. This included a hat trick and four-point performance on Oct. 28 against Mississauga. Sarnia acquired him in a mid-November trade, and the forward didn’t disappoint. He posted 30-49=79 points with a +31 rating in 46 games with the Sting, which included a career-high 1-4=5 point performance in an early February matchup against the Soo Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
"He’s as creative as they come, using his hands to keep goalies guessing until it’s too late," Steve Ellis of Daily Faceoff wrote in a February article. "Pastujov used to be all offense, all the time, but his defensive game and work ethic have allowed him to succeed this season. There’s a lot of potential here."
Sarnia entered postseason play looking to punch their ticket to the Memorial Cup. While the team fell short of its goal, Pastujov continued his strong play. He led Sarnia in playoff scoring with 6-13=19 points in 16 OHL playoff games and co-led in assists, ranked second in power-play points (1-5=6) and power-play assists, and tied for third in goals. Among OHL Playoff leaders, he was tied for eight in assists.
Highlighting his impressive performance was a dominant two-game stretch in the OHL Semifinals. He posted three-point outings in Game 3 (1-2=3) and Game 4 (0-3=3) on back-to-back nights May 2-3, 2023. In total, he earned 2-7=9 in the six-game series vs. London.
Brimming with offensive talent, Pastujov enters the summer looking to potentially make a splash in professional hockey. If he spends time with the Gulls, focusing on developing his all-around game will be the next step in his development.
"We're going to see a team that plays suffocating team defense," Gulls head coach Matt McIlvane said at his introductory press conference last month. "It's really, really hard to create chances against us. And we've got a lot of young prospects with great offensive upside. They're going to have to learn about playing defense in pro hockey and we're going to help them with those lessons."
"And then really, you need to be dynamic offensively. There's so many gifted players in our organization. We'll look to surround our youth with great leadership, but the blend between being relentlessly competitive, suffocating defensively, and dynamic offensively, without getting into too much detail, that's what we're going to shoot at."