Livescore
EDMONTON — Every team needs great prospects.
The Edmonton Oilers have grown accustomed to their best prospects joining the NHL within a year of being drafted. Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Nail Yakupov were all draft-day selections who played quickly after being drafted.
Most NHL teams don’t have the luxury of multiple first-round selections. Therefore, they have had to emphasize development to grow their talent into NHL players.
A fifth-round draft pick from the 2020 Entry Draft could have a real shot at playing in the NHL.
Maxim Beryozkin (or Maksim Berezkin) is a 23-year-old winger playing for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL. He is currently in his second full season playing in the KHL after splitting the three seasons before that between the MHL, VHL, and KHL.
In a nutshell, the MHL and VHL are farm teams for their KHL counterparts. The VHL is their AHL equivalent, while the MHL is more on par with CHL teams (OHL, WHL, QMJHL).
On Thursday, Beryozkin scored his first career hat trick in the KHL. He played 17:39 in the game. Before that, the most he had scored in a KHL game before was one.
That brings his season totals to nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 32 games. He currently leads his team in points while averaging 15:49 of ice time per game. Beryozkin’s nine goals on 77 shots give him an 11.7 shooting percentage.
The young Russian does not currently have a contract with the Oilers, but his KHL deal expires at the end of May 2025. I suspect the team may pitch to his agent to get this 6-foot-4, 212-pound winger to cross the pond next year.
At least it would be silly for them not to try.
Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more.
Related: Oilers Trading For John Gibson Would Be A Disaster
Related: Former Oilers Forward Rediscovers Scoring Magic
Related: Big Injury Update On Ex-Oilers Defender
Related: Leon Draisaitl Has Found A New Level
Related: Kris Knoblauch Says “There’s A Chance” Zach Hyman Returns Very Soon
Related: Oilers Important Defender Having Huge Year
Related: Ex-Oiler William Lagesson Makes Big Mistake
Read the full article here
Discussion about this post