Eastern Europe Stock Watch: Matvei Korotky showing off goal-scoring touch
The regular season is inching its way to the finish line and the playoff picture is settling into place in all three levels of Russian hockey.
In the MHL, Loko Yaroslavl were the first time to clinch a spot in the Kharlamov Cup Playoffs and saw Vadim Dudorov take the No. 1 spot in the club’s all-time scoring leaderboard this past month.
Metallurg Novokuznetsk strolled into their spot in the Silk Road Playoffs in the VHL as the most dominant team this year. Behind them, Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk, Neftyanik Almetievsk, and Khimik Voskresensk have also clinched their spots, leaving 12 remaining.
The Gagarin Cup Playoffs are nearly full with just four openings left on the Eastern side of things. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl have matched their junior club as the leaders of the Western Conference while Metallurg Magnitogorsk took the East.
Stock Rising 📈
Yaroslav Ivantsov, RW, MHK Dynamo Moskva (2026 NHL Draft)
Yaroslav Ivantsov had a somewhat boring start to his MHL career, beginning this season as a rotation piece through the MHK Dynamo lineup. Since December, he’s taken the necessary steps forward to become a regular asset in their middle-six and earned a call-up to the Russian U18 team for the Future Cup at the start of February.
Like his brother, Ilya Ivantsov of Severstal Cherepovets, Yaroslav moved from Penza to Moskva for most of his hockey journey before making his debut in the MHL this season. His game is defined by his creative playmaking. With advanced habits of deception and a great understanding of how plays flow, he can seamlessly connect passes throughout the offensive zone to be a dominating play driver. His statline really tells a story with 16 of his 18 points coming from assists.
Alan Shaikhlislamov, RW, Tolpar Ufa (2026 NHL Draft)
Alan Shaikhlislamov led all first-time draft eligibles in the MHL in scoring last month with 10 points in six games. He started the month with the U18 team at the Future Cup, too, so he missed out on a big game against Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk.
While his performances and the Future Cup were underwhelming, he still showed some habits that make him an interesting NHL Draft prospect. His ensuing production was a big step in the right direction for building momentum. His profile looks the part of a player who will be able to translate his scoring to the KHL, an off-puck sniper with the capability to mix in playmaking flashes as a side hustle. Not the most complete player, but definitely brings interesting tools.
Matvei Korotky, C/RW, SKA St. Petersburg (St. Louis Blues)
Matvei Korotky was the best U23 player in the KHL this past month with four goals and four assists in 11 games in a sizable role with SKA.
With 29 shots on goal, it’s clear to see that he has the confidence to be a goal scoring threat at this level. Following a three-point game against Neftekhimik, his ice time shot up, including his first time reaching the 20-minute mark in a 2-3 shootout defeat against Cherepovets. His shot projects to the NHL and his continuation of using his power forward habits to add value to his scoring chances is a great sign for his development.
Stock Steady ↔️
Mikhail Fyodorov, RW, Metallurg Magnitogorsk (St. Louis Blues)
Mikhail Fyodorov had a solid start to the season from a production standpoint, but it has not been reflected in his usage. Now, he’s hit a wall with scoring, registering just one point through the month of February.
Scoring aside, he has been taking steps in the right direction for building up the profile of a KHL player. Particularly through physical habits and the ability to shake off pressure in the corners, he has opened up a new weapon of offence by forcing separation space to allow himself to generate passes to the slot. The work he is putting in may not be bearing the fruits yet, but the dual-threat potential is growing in this player.
Stock Falling 📉
Krasnaya Armiya Moskva
In Loko’s two-game series against Krasnaya Armiya in early February, Vadim Dudorov put up seven points in the CSKA arena. Over the span of the full month in which Krasnaya Armiya played seven games, their joint-top scorers only managed five points.
A red hot start to the season had them pegged as contenders to top the Western Conference Gold Division after being promoted the season prior. Their success ended up being a detriment as, in mid-December, their head coach, Sergei Golubovich, would leave the club on mutual agreement to take a job with HK Norilsk in the VHL. Since then, the team has struggled to score and has lost multiple games that should have been cake walks, including a 1-0 defeat to Sakhalinskie Akuly on February 19th.
Yan Matveiko (CGY) had a particularly rough month with just one point in seven games after making his VHL debut late in January. Nazar Privalov and Danila Poroshkov were both held to two points, giving the former a disappointing closing stretch to a record-breaking rookie season. Additional rotation to the lineup has been a hindrance to the cohesion the team once had. Even if it is nice to see more players making their debuts in the MHL, there seems to be too much complacency with their current ranking in the league table and, with time dwindling, a final push seems unlikely.