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Russia Stock Watch: Roman Kantserov emerging as a top prospect for Chicago Blackhawks

NHL Prospect Report

It's February and the 2025 Russian Draft class continues to look bleak. 

There are the likes of Alexander Zharovsky and Pyotr Andreyanov as key names, but both have featured in previous renditions of Stock Watch and, thus, new players take priority. 

The focus shifts to top players in the KHL this season as we look to highlight some potential free agent signings and an emerging star in the league. On the flip side, there’s been no shortage of prospects who simply are not playing much hockey this year. A handful of names including Stepan Zvyagin (FLA), Fyodor Avramov (CAR), and Ivan Yunin (COL) have an incredibly limited sample size as they switch between leagues and have struggled to find a true home.

On the bright side, the season is getting to the point where every game becomes that much more important. Young players will emerge as important names for their clubs while others may struggle to keep up, making these articles a lot more enticing. There’s also the Future Cup coming up where Russia will be sending both a U17 and U18 team to compete against Belarus’ U17 and U18 squads. A lot to look forward to, but, for now, here’s how things have gone down over the past two months:

Stock Rising 📈

Roman Kantserov, RW, Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Chicago Blackhawks)

Roman Kantserov has been the player to watch since his belated start to the 2024-25 season. He’s already close to doubling his point tally from his rookie campaign with 25 in 28 games with Magnitogorsk this season and is showing signs of being a legit offensive talent in the KHL.

https://x.com/khl_eng/status/1878073998711329011

This exciting season has been a result of the details that the winger has added to his game since moving out of junior. From his game against Avangard Omsk on December 23rd:

“His playmaking habits look refined: deception with head fakes, delaying the maximize chances, and manipulating his handling before releasing. He had a really nice, no-look pass to nearly pick up an assist in the third, staring down the goalie as he slid down toward the slot before attacking the open lane to his left to set up a one-timer for his teammate. He spots movement effectively to assist chances in dangerous areas consistently.”

His package of smarts, skill, and speed have culminated in a major contributor to dangerous offence, however, the projection to the NHL is still one that is tricky. Kantserov can best be described as sneaky - a player who is able to slip behind defenders completely unmarked and get the puck with space all around him. 

It leads to really nice sequences in the KHL, but when those pockets constrict on NHL ice, he could struggle to adapt his style. He’ll have to find a top-six role with Chicago or we may see another Nikita Gusev-esque situation unfold.

Danil Aimurzin, C, Severstal Cherepovets

Danil Aimurzin will be a name to keep track of this offseason as his contract is set to expire with Severstal when their season ends. They kept hold of his linemate, Kirill Pilipenko, already as they extended him another year, while talks with Aimurzin have seemed to stall out.

https://x.com/khl_eng/status/1874833027890643359

His game against SKA St. Petersburg on January 16th was a great display to show exactly what he’s capable of:

“He doesn't take over plays given the style this team runs, but he's a highly effective contributor to the machine that this top line is, using intelligent passing techniques to adapt to pressure, manipulates well, and has a great understanding of the game. His processing speed is top-notch with how quickly he can adjust his goal on any given touch, predicts his teammate's movement excellently, and can set the tempo of play on his own.” 

As stated above, he’s a key piece of the dominant and highly entertaining first line in Cherepovets. He has been one of the top point producers in the KHL all year, finishing January with 44 points in 50 games, and his 27 goals were enough for second place in the league. His high-end passing ability and vision, combined with his finishing touch, provide excellent dual-threat offensive skill. He also plays a sound defensive game as the first-line centre.

Maxim Shabanov, C/RW, Traktor Chelyabinsk

Sticking with players potentially making the switch to North America, Maxim Shabanov has been on a tear this season with Traktor, being their first player to hit 50 points after being the only one to do it last season.

The 24-year-old forward would be one of a handful of 5-foot-8 players in the NHL if the interest shown comes to fruition. To compensate for his size, he blends high pace, shifty movement, and quick puck distribution to navigate the offensive zone. While he leans towards being a playmaker, the Chelyabinsk native certainly possesses an NHL-calibre shot. His passing skill is where the magic truly happens—he makes strong reads with excellent anticipation to catch defenders off guard, delivers passes against the run of play, and keeps himself in motion through his sequences to stay in position, either to continue the cycle or move into a goal-scoring spot.

His production has been a bit unusual, though. Since the start of January, he has recorded points in nearly every other game, with back-to-back scoreless games to open the month being the only exception. That said, four of the five games in which he made the scoresheet were multi-point performances. While there is a slight concern about his consistency in providing direct offensive value, he remains an active contributor on a game-by-game basis, even when he isn't registering points.

Honourable Mentions: Bogdan Pestretsov (2025 NHL Draft), Marat Sabitov (2026 NHL Draft)

Stock Steady ↔️

Yegor Surin, C, Loko Yaroslavl (Nashville Predators)

Yegor Surin’s high intensity style of play remains the selling point, but the 22nd-overall pick is still finding his feet in the KHL. In junior, he’s finding no issues regaining his form from his draft-eligible season.

In December and January, he suited up for just eight games, evenly split between the KHL and MHL. In his four games with Loko, he managed to record ten points against Silver Division opponents. In fact, among his ten total MHL games, Surin has faced only one Gold Division team—MHK Dynamo Moskva—where he failed to get on the scoresheet. He produced at a high rate against weaker opposition last season, and that trend appears to be continuing.

As for his time in the KHL, Surin has shown some signs of improvement, but he isn’t playing consistently enough to fully refine his skill set. He attacks with high pace and aggression, creating panic for opposing defences while gradually shedding his individualistic junior habits. With one year remaining on his contract with Lokomotiv, the hope is that he secures a regular role with the main club next season. However, earning a spot amid their deep forward group will be a challenge, requiring a strong preseason—perhaps even leaving the possibility of a trade open. 

Stock Falling 📉

Nikita Susuyev, LW/RW, Admiral Vladivostok (St. Louis Blues)

Nikita Susuyev joined the Vladivostok system on loan from Spartak Moskva in early December and things have been suboptimal.

For starters, the seventh-round pick has been dressed 14 times by Admiral in the KHL since the deal was made. For 10 of those 14, Susuyev didn’t touch the ice. That leaves him with a grand total of 14:04 of ice time. This is after coming off of a season where he played in 40 games with Spartak and finished with an average ice time per game of 4:59. Simply put, this lack of game time is a killer for development. His only chances to go out there and play his game are coming with Taifun in the MHL, who currently sit 8th in the Silver Division in the West (don’t look at where Primorsky Krai is on a map of Russia).

Nikita Poltavchuk, D, Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk

While he may not be a name all too familiar with the public, Nikita Poltavchuk has created some fans within the EliteProspects scouting room. He was omitted from the mid-season NHL Central Scouting list while the two other draft-eligible Steel Foxes, Artyom Gonchar and MIkhail Fyodorov, did. Lassi Alanen, Dir. of European Scouting, described his performance against Avto Yekaterinburg on October 24th, "One of the best performances I've seen from a draft-eligible defenceman this season.", yet the defencemen is down on ice time and has even been sent to play in the U18s.

Poltavchuk is an exciting talent in the offensive zone, capable of breaking down defences with his intelligent passing, off-puck movement, and aggressive activations. However, since joining the Russian U18 national team for the Future Cup in November, we have only seen flashes of that intriguing skill set. As an undersized defenceman, the uphill climb to the NHL Draft is a challenging one. His early-season performances were promising—earning him an honourable mention on our December NHL Draft board—but his inability to rediscover that playmaking form is currently holding him back.

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