Russian defenseman Mark Konstantinov commits to Merrimack
Merrimack received a commitment on Tuesday from 2008-born Russian defenseman Mark Konstantinov.
Konstantinov is rated as a 4.25-star recruit by Neutral Zone, making him the highest-graded recruit Merrimack has ever committed. Konstantinov is playing for the New Jersey Rockets 16U team this season, where he has eight points (3g-5a) in 11 games. Last season, he had 46 points (13g-33a) in 61 games for the Rockets 15U AAA team.
Neutral Zone listed Konstantinov as a potential August 1 commit last summer:
“Russian born player who spent this past season with NJ Rockets where he was a standout offensive defenseman who quarterbacked their power play and ran the offense from the backend. A physical, dynamic puck moving defenseman who is automatic on the breakout making forecheckers miss and quickly advancing the puck up to his forwards. Likely not on many teams radars at this point but he’s good enough to get an August 1st call and NCAA teams will have a year head-start before he’s eligible for the CHL Import Draft.”
Konstantinov is the second 4+ star recruit in the 2008 class, joining Easton Daneault. He becomes the seventh Merrimack prospect rated four stars or higher, the most players Merrimack has ever had committed in its history with that distinction.