Two Oilers prospects turning heads with strong start in KHL

The first of the Oilers' prospect is 23-year old left-winger Maxim Beryozkin, who was drafted by Edmonton in the 5th-round of the 2020 Entry Draft.

In the 2024-25 season, Beryozkin was instrumental in helping his team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl with the KHL championship and raise the Gargin Cup, by scoring 9G and 14 points in 21 playoff games.

Though Maxim signed a one-year extension with his KHL club, the Oilers still hold his rights.

In his first game with Lokomotiv, Maxim was all over the ice, creating scoring chances, disrupting defensive plays and causing turnovers by using his speed and high hockey-IQ.

Playing on the team's first powerplay unit, the 6'2" prospect's puck-handling skills were on full-display, making crisp passes and creating several high-danger chances for his side, according to an article that reported on the game.

Though he did not score during regulation time, Maxim did record the winning goal in the shoot-out, stickhandling into the slot, and shooting glove-side to easily find the back of the net.

Maxim Beryozkin has shown why he's rated as Edmonton's number-3 prospect, and why he could be playing in North America as early as the 2026 season.

The other prospect to have a good start to the KHL season is left-side defenseman Nikita Yevseyev, who was drafted in the 6th round by the Oilers in 2022.

Though he's playing with the bottom-tier club Amur Khabarovsk, it presents the 21-year old an opportunity to log big, top-4 minutes, an area that will help his development considerably.

In his first-game with Amur, Nikita was reported to defend the blueline well, causing turnovers and eliminating options from rushing forwards.

Nikita is also physical, unafraid to engage in battles on the boards and in front of the net. While not considered a high-end offensive player, he has shown flashes of his offensive instincts, as he did in his first game while on the powerplay, as well as activating in the O-zone to create odd-man-opportunities down-low.

Yevseyev is as a legitimate NHL prospect with the potential to be a dependable 3rd-pairing defenseman, particularly if he can translate his game to North America.

Nikita has spent the majority of the past couple of seasons in the KHL with Ak Bars Kazan, though he was loaned to Amur Khabarovsk for the current 2025-26 season. There were rumors about him signing an Entry-Level Contract with the Oilers this summer, but that has not happened yet.