 McKeen's Hockey scouts described him as a cross between Ilya Kovalchuk and Maxim Afinogenov.His strengths included his skating and vision, as well as the inclination to play at high intensity.The NHL's Director of European Scouting, Goran Stubb, assessed Filatov's NHL readiness as, "Nikita is a leader, has a great attitude, an excellent work ethic and tons of talent."