Edmonton Oilers Making Pitch to Sign Budding Star Player in KHL Before Free Agency
The Edmonton Oilers have never had much luck signing and developing free agents from the KHL, but that could change in the coming months.
According to analyst Alan Mitchell, Stan Bowman and the Oilers will likely be making a press to sign Maxim Berezkin in the KHL. Berezkin was a 5th round draft pick of the Oilers in 2020, but will become a free agent on May 31, 2025.
»[Berezkin] owns a power-forward skill set, is 22 years old, 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, wins board battles and is likely the most�NHL-ready unsigned forward in Edmonton's system.»
- Alan Mitchell, The Athletic
Oilers fans have real reasons to get excited about Berezkin. He's a 6'4 power forward who is showing decent offensive abilities with 20 points in 25 games this season. Most notably, Berezkin is only 23 years old and has played 201 professional games already. For that reason, Berezkin has a great chance of playing in the NHL next year. Power forwards are becoming a rare player type in the NHL now too, so anytime one is available, fans get excited.
In his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Stan Bowman had great track record signing Russian free agents and bringing them in with immediate success. The Oilers
are expected to try to sign their prospect and bring him over, but it's possible the Oilers could also trade Berezkin at the deadline, especially if another team values him highly.
For years, the Oilers have seemed to miss out on the talent coming out of the KHL while other teams find valuable free agents. If Stan Bowman can find quality players from a previously untapped resource, that'd be a great outcome for the Oilers.
- Alan Mitchell, The Athletic
Oilers fans have real reasons to get excited about Berezkin. He's a 6'4 power forward who is showing decent offensive abilities with 20 points in 25 games this season. Most notably, Berezkin is only 23 years old and has played 201 professional games already. For that reason, Berezkin has a great chance of playing in the NHL next year. Power forwards are becoming a rare player type in the NHL now too, so anytime one is available, fans get excited.
In his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Stan Bowman had great track record signing Russian free agents and bringing them in with immediate success. The Oilers
are expected to try to sign their prospect and bring him over, but it's possible the Oilers could also trade Berezkin at the deadline, especially if another team values him highly.
For years, the Oilers have seemed to miss out on the talent coming out of the KHL while other teams find valuable free agents. If Stan Bowman can find quality players from a previously untapped resource, that'd be a great outcome for the Oilers.
| POLL | ||
Do you think the Oilers should sign Berezkin? | ||
| Yes | 77 | 75.5 % |
| No | 19 | 18.6 % |
| See Results | 6 | 5.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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