The Barrie Colts have signed their first-round draft choice from the 2025 CHL Import Draft, bringing in a diminutive but highly skilled forward to their core ahead of the upcoming season.
On Thursday, via the Colts’ official X account, the club successfully recruited Russian forward Andrei Gudin, whom they took 47th overall in the most recent import draft.
Gudin, 17, was one of the best players in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League (T1EHL), the premier amateur youth hockey league in the USA. Playing for the Ohio Blue Jackets 16U AAA, he led the T1EHL 16U division in scoring with 79 points (43 goals, 36 assists) in 40 games.
The Yekaterinburg, Russia native recorded a total of 142 points (77 goals, 65 assists) in 66 games in the 16U AAA scene during the 2024-25 season — T1EHL statistics included. He’s undersized at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, but he’s an electrifying player to watch.
Gudin is very strong on his edges and is adept at knifing his way through traffic to position himself into prime shooting lanes. From there, he has a very sleek curl-and-drag release, which clearly is a strength in his offensive skill set. He possesses calm and smooth hands one-on-one to beat goalies, and even though he’s small, he’s shown that he doesn’t back down to his opposition physically.
Last season was Gudin’s first season playing in North America. During the 2023-24 season, he played back home for the Yunost Yekaterinburg organization at the U16 and U17 level, where he recorded a combined 59 points (32 goals, 27 assists) in 46 games.
The Ohio Blue Jackets 16U team’s head coach last season was former NHL defenseman Fedor Tyutin. As a fellow Russian, I’m sure he had a hand in recruiting Gudin over to his team for the 2024-25 season.
Tyutin spent 13 seasons in the NHL, playing for the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, — eight years with Columbus — and finishing his career with the Colorado Avalanche in 2016-17. He was a second-round (40th overall) pick by the Rangers in 2001. In 872 career games, the Russian blueliner recorded 264 points (55 goals, 209 assists).
In international competition, Tyutin won gold at the U18 World Championship, twice at the U20 World Junior Championship, and at the Men’s World Championship.
Tyutin was also a product of the CHL import draft. He was taken 29th overall by the Guelph Storm in 2001 and made an immediate impact in their lineup. He recorded 59 points (19 goals, 40 assists) in 53 games and added 10 points (2 goals, 8 assists) in 9 playoff games. Guelph hosted the Memorial Cup in 2002, where he tallied two goals in four games, but the Storm finished fourth amongst the four representatives.
With Gudin signed, and Ottawa Senators defense prospect Gabriel Eliasson returning, the Colts have one import spot remaining. Dallas Stars prospect Emil Hemming could return if the plan isn’t for him to jump to the AHL — or if he’s unable to make the Texas Stars roster.
(Top photo credit: Terry Wilson/OHL Images)
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