Russia Stock Watch: Kraken prospect Semyon Vyazovoy making statement in KHL
The All-Star break has come and gone in the Russian hockey scene, and teams are now preparing for the toughest stretch of the season before the playoffs arrive. Most of the KHL is already set, with 13 of the 16 teams having clinched their spots.
One step below, in the VHL, things are much tighter. Only six of the 16 teams have secured their places, leaving plenty still up in the air as the final stretch of the season approaches.
Down in the MHL, where things get more complicated, I’ll do my best to break it down. Five Gold Division teams have clinched playoff spots, while five more are still battling to secure their positions. The top five teams from each conference earn a direct berth and bypass the play-in series, while the sixth to eighth seeds enter that round. Those three teams (6th-8th) face off against the top three from the Silver Divisions in their respective conferences to determine who advances to the Kharlamov Cup Playoffs.
There’s also a relegation system in place—where the bottom team in the Gold Division will be replaced by the top team in the Silver Division. All four of those battles are shaping up to be intense as the season nears its conclusion.
Stock Rising 📈
Semyon Vyazovoy, G, Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Seattle Kraken)
There’s been no beating Semyon Vyazovoy this season.
In his first two seasons in the VHL with Toros Neftekamsk, the netminder stayed near the top of the league in save percentage with a .920 as a rookie and a .929 in his sophomore year. This season, he’s made the jump from Toros to Salavat Yulaev and has made it look just as easy in the KHL, posting a .936 save percentage through February.
The only thing stopping him from being a top goaltender in the league is the sample size. With Alexander Samonov also in Ufa, Vyazovoy is battling hard for starts, but there’s only so much he can do given how good Samonov has been over the past few seasons. Still, the Kraken’s 2021 sixth-round pick has put together some fantastic performances when given the chance. His 26 save shutout against Avangard Omsk on January 20th should have given more enthusiasm for his progression, however, he didn’t play another KHL game until February 14th, another shutout, this time a 30 save night against Ak Bars Kazan.
He’s proven himself as deserving to be playing in the KHL regularly, so now Salavat Yulaev may be pressured to move one of him or Samonov. Alternatively, his contract expires at the end of this season, so a move to North America is not out of the question.
Boris Borin, C/RW, AKM Tula (2026 NHL Draft)
Boris Borin is more than just a really fun name, he’s also a really fun hockey player. He started his month playing with the Russian U17 team at the Future Cup, where his side was joined by Russia U18, Belarus U18, and Belarus U20, meaning that he was playing on the youngest and least experienced team.
Opening the tournament against Russia U18 was a tough task, but the 5-foot-10 dynamo rose to the occasion and was a standout player in the game. “There weren't a lot of standouts on this U17 team here, but Boris Borin is just inevitable when he has a Russian jersey on. His pace, motor, and mindset saw him as the only consistent playdriver for his team, carrying the puck with confidence and understanding when to burn the defender with pace or use his dynamic handling to deke through and then explode.”
After that tournament concluded and Russia U17 inevitably finished in last place, Borin put up four points in two games with AKM-Junior, being involved with all three goals that his team scored against, Gold Division sides, MHK Dynamo Moskva and Almaz Cherepovets. That was enough to move him back up to AKM Tula (still in the MHL, this is confusing, I know), where he’s continued to impress. From his game against Amurskie Tigry on February 26th, “Boris Borin could probably play sixty minutes a game and still have gas in the tank. This kid is an absolute workhorse. Battled through contact while keeping his stick glued to the puck, deceiving the defence with tricky handles, sprinting all over the place, and being the type of player that provides value in any role you put him in at this level… To top it off, he showed off how lethal his shot can be with a wicked release to score the opening goal of this game.”
Dmitri Gamzin, G, CSKA Moskva (New York Islanders)
Another goaltender finding his game in the KHL is Dmitri Gamzin of CSKA Moskva.
Gamzin was selected as a 21-year-old by the Islanders, primarily playing with Zvedza in the VHL where he posted a .922 save percentage while splitting starts with Vesvolod Skotnikov. He featured in the KHL 13 times as the rotational backup behind Ivan Fedotov where he put up an impressive .937.
Now, Gamzin is primarily in the KHL and has been given a huge opportunity with CSKA’s primary starter, Ivan Prosvetov, on IR. He started his February with a huge start, a 2-1 shootout victory against Avangard Omsk where he made 45 saves on 46 shots, and then proceeded to start the next five games for his team. As a result, the numbers slowly trended downward, yet Gamzin still put up some impressive performances as he looks to become a full-time starter in the KHL.
Honorable Mentions: Anton Melchakov (2025 NHL Draft), Matvei Korotky (St. Louis Blues)
Stock Steady ↔️
Roman Bausov, D, MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg (2025 NHL Draft)
One player attracting a lot of attention from NHL teams while flying under the public eye is the 6-foot-5 blueliner, Roman Bausov.
Bausov has established himself as a true sense of reliability on the MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg backend. He possesses the range and mobility to be a rush stopper and threat to suffocate plays. Starting this month with Russia U18 at the Future Cup, he showed some added flash against Russia U17, “I won't really touch on Bausov's physicality and defensive prowess because it really would have been odd if either didn't show up against U17 competition. Instead, I'll focus more on his creativity and willingness to try new things. This was the first time where he really looked like a true playmaking threat.”
This was a pretty unusual outing for Bausov, who’s usually playing a much more basic game. That was, however, the end of it as he closed out the tournament against the two better teams with his normal, defence first game before returning to the MHL to do the same.
What keeps him in this category is the timetable for development. I stated early on in my report from his game against Amurskie Tigry on February 9th, “The best way to describe this game is: being 6-foot-5 at 17-years-old is not normal.” He has a lot of filling out to do with his frame to really start leveraging the physical aspect of his game and that extra reach does result in awkward puck handling moments. Regardless, this is a big, right-handed defenceman with the potential for great defensive upside, so there’s good reason for team’s to be all over him.
Stock Falling 📉
Pavel Moysevich, G, SKA St. Petersburg (Vegas Golden Knights)
February was a rough month for Belarusian netminder, Pavel Moysevich. In fact, this whole season hasn’t really gone as well as expected.
After posting a .942 save percentage in his 13 games with SKA St. Petersburg last season, Moysevich is down to a .898 this year, putting him towards the bottom of the league and is worrying given the quality of the team in front of him. He’s been pulled from the net nine times this season, notably after 5:22 against Torpedo on December 19th after letting in two goals on four shots and, six days later, against CSKA where he hsi night was cut short after 13:41, allowing three on seven shots.
In February, Moysevich put up a .878 save percentage and was pulled on three of his four starts. His last game of the month against Kunlun Red Star was brutal, letting in five goals on six shots. It’s going to be tough for him to become the guy for SKA at this point. He’s third in the depth chart now and his numbers don’t warrant many more chances, so it would not be surprising if this was his final season in St. Petersburg.
Ivan Yunin, G, Omskie Krylia (Colorado Avalanche)
Concluding this goaltender heavy edition of Stock Watch is Ivan Yunin.
He was mentioned in the introduction of last month’s article because he just wasn’t really playing very much and, honestly, he started off February pretty well. Two games in the VHL and made 48 saves on 51 shots and moved back down to the MHL with Omskie Yastreby where helped them defeat Belye Medvedi 4-2.
After that, he’s had a tough time finding a rhythm. He returned to Krylia against HK Norilsk on the 10th, where he was pulled after 23:08, letting in three goals on twelve shots. He followed that on the 12th with a big loss to Metallurg Novokuznetsk where he allowed six and was sent to the bench after 36:56.
He’s posting sub-.880 numbers in both the VHL and MHL this season. It may not be all bad, though. Yunin is very inexperienced having played just 15 games in the MHL before this season. He spent most of last year in the Russian U18 circuit and has now been given an extremely heavy workload in comparison. The early signs are negative, but still plenty of time for the 18-year-old to figure it out.
