On the basis of their NHL scouting presence in the region, the Flyers have had a stronghold in the country since the selection of Matvei Michkov. They are one of the few organizations with a heavy presence in the nation, and that might give them a competitive advantage in projections, negotiations to bring players overseas, etc.
In a draft like this one, there isn’t a “strong” set of Russian skaters filling out the first two rounds of the draft. There’s even a possibility that not a single Russian makes it into the first round, although the draft stocks of wingers Alexander Zharovsky and Daniil Prokhorov, as well as goalie Semyon Frolov, have been floated into “potential first rounder” territory. On the flipside, former top 10 projected pick Ivan Ryabkin has seen his stock plummet into late second round to middle round territory.
With that being said, there will be plenty of highly skilled long-term projects available in the Russian leagues. Guys that will certainly be easy to take a flier on (like last year’s sixth rounder Ilya Pautov) that are oozing with high-end skill but in uncertain developmental situations in the MHL. Considering the last couple years of drafting, the Flyers will likely be able to take one or two of these types, so let’s get into what skaters might be on their radar outside of Zharovsky, Prokhorov, and Ryabkin.
Kurban Limatov (LHD)
8G, 15A in 43 MHL Games
Limatov – the consensus No. 1 Russian defenseman of this class – has occasionally been floated as a sleeper first round candidate in a draft year that’s very thin on defense as a whole. It’s not hard to see why Limatov has risen to the top of the Russian defense class, as he’s a smooth skating, 6-foot-3 blueliner that has tons of bite to his game.
With his skating ability, Limatov should have an ability to move the puck up ice in an instant, but there are question marks about his hockey IQ, specifically on the breakout. Scouts worry about his passing reads and vision when leaving the defensive zone, as Limatov is prone to turnovers due to his questionable decisions with the puck. He’s really going to be a make or break prospect based on whether or not his hockey IQ can match his skating ability and raw tools, and he’s well worth a shot in the second round.
Caught up on some Kurban Limatov tape recently, and he remains one of the biggest wildcard prospects for the 2025 draft
— Derek Neumeier (@Derek_N_NHL) April 19, 2025
If a team can land a 6-foot-3 defender who skates and handles the puck like this and maximize his development then the finished product could be pretty great pic.twitter.com/pD8SvM9QGR
Kirill Yemelyanov (C)
13G, 11A in 24 MHL Games
Yemelyanov is kind of the opposite of the high-scoring, one-dimensional forwards that have low-probabilities of making the NHL that Russia is typically full of. Instead, he’s one of the few Russian skaters this year that you can reasonably project to a middle-six role, as a defensively reliable two-way center that has a good amount of puck skill to go with it. He does all the little things right, knows when to support the defensemen versus when to rush out of the offensive zone, has a high work rate, and has the snarl necessary to fill a bottom-six centerman role.
With 7 points in 5 games, Kirill Yemelyanov leads all draft-eligible skaters through the early stages of the 2025 Kharlamov Cup.
— dylan griffing (@GriffingDylan) April 13, 2025
He's centring Loko's top line and showing more offensive pop in the postseason, adding into his two-way value.
🔗 https://t.co/kiqqVgpWHg pic.twitter.com/58mSrkB8VT
Maxim Agafonov (RHD)
6G, 8A in 35 MHL Games
Agafonov is more of a project defenseman, but he’s got the tools on the right-side to be an NHLer one day. He’s a largely stay-at-home, 6-foot-2 right handed blueliner that has defensive zone attributes that are hard not to like. Agafonov is unafraid to be physically imposing on incoming forecheckers, he’s sneaky good at evading incoming pressure, and he does a nice job of frequently disrupting passing lanes.
According to Dylan Griffing, Agafonov plays a more passive role on his pair, and that’s probably going to need to change a bit for him to keep getting better. He’s already playing a fairly refined defensive game, but if he unlocks a bit of puck-moving skill? There might be some real upside here.
Roman Bausov (RHD)
2G, 9A in 41 MHL Games
The things that Agafonov does well, Roman Bausov does even better, and in a 6-foot-5 body. His defensive skills are already pretty top notch, and he’s already not far from earning KHL consideration and playing time. Similar to Agafonov, Bausov struggles on the breakout and in moving the puck up the ice, and hasn’t fully developed his puck-handling skills yet. Look for him to go in the middle rounds as a long term project for a team.
Artyom Gonchar (LHD)
7G, 18A in 50 MHL Games
Look, it’s Sergei Gonchar’s nephew!
Beyond the family connection, there’s an intriguing player archetype here. Gonchar’s a smaller, 6-foot-0 defenseman that is pretty good on both ends of the ice. There is a thought that Gonchar has a decent chance to unlock further offense to his game to compensate for his smaller stature, but he’s going to need to really fill out his mere 143 pound frame. There’s a lot riding on Gonchar doing just that, so he’s very much a shot-in-the-dark pick for a team in the late rounds.
Dmitri Isayev (LW)
22G, 23A in 45 MHL Games
As one of the higher-scoring Russians in this draft class, Isayev’s a 5-foot-9 left winger who registered more points than Danill Prokhorov in the MHL this year, and five points less than Alexander Zharovsky. He’s also a June 2007 birthday, so he’s got lots of runway to develop his skills further.
The tough part about Isayev, though? He’s very much a periphery playmaker, according to the Elite Prospects Draft Guide. Too often, Isayev collects his points via “low-to-high climbs” in the zone that will be very low-percentage against professionals. Look for that to be exploited at the next level in Russia, let alone the NHL. And, unfortunately for Isayev, he’s too small and not dynamic enough right now to compensate for all of that.
German Suzdorf (C)
6G, 16A in 36 MHL Games
Suzdorf is a bit unheralded, as he’s a shutdown center for his MHL squad that doesn’t light up the scoresheet but makes an outsized impact defensively. He’s 6-foot-6, plays a mean game, forces players into uncomfortable positions on the ice, and is an ultra-steady presence in an unpredictable league. He’s going to have some fans in this draft, so look out for a Suzdorf pick from the fourth round onwards.
Mikhail Fyodorov (RW)
17G, 26A in 45 MHL Games
Projection wise, Fyodorov reminds us a little bit of Ilya Pautov from last season. He’s a smaller, skilled winger that does a lot of really fun things on the ice, but also a ton of things that simply won’t translate to the next level. Pautov earned most of his points via his playmaking ability, while Fyodorov is more lethal with his own shot – but the players have similar flaws in that they are largely perimeter players. At their smaller size, players like Fyodorov have to begin showing a fearlessness at cutting to the middle of the ice in order to have translatable success. He’s fun, but he’s definitely a long-term project as well.
Nikita Tyurin (LHD)
4G, 16A in 50 MHL Games
Lastly, Tyurin is another defenseman that fits into the puck-moving, smaller-sized archetype. He’s in the conversation to be the second Russian defenseman off the board in this class, behind expected second rounder Limatov. For Spartak (MHL) this season, Tyurin slowly gained draft stock into 3rd-5th round territory, as a puck-moving defensive defenseman that does all the little things right. He is known to play a pretty safe game overall, and the next step for Tyurin is adding a bit of offensive flash to his game.
