This Oilers prospect is at risk of falling behind his peers

The Edmonton Oilers have a longstanding history of taking chances on and giving opportunities to European players, specifically from Russia. Even when many teams would tend to shy away from Russians at the draft table due to the 'Russian factor' this was not an issue that heavily deterred the Oilers brass.

Since 2010, the Oilers have drafted 12 players of Russian nationality. Some notable players include; Nail Yakupov, Bogdan Yakimov, Anton Slepyshev, Ilya Konovalov, and Matvei Petrov amongst others.

Currently, the Oilers have three players playing in the Russian top tier league, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Maxim Beryozkin is likely the most notable, having played a big role on Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, capturing a Gargarin Cup championship last season. However, this season he has seen a major dip in production.

Beryozkin has struggled this season

Through 46 games with Yaroslavl this season, he has scored four goals and 14 assists for 18 points. This gives him a point-per-game average of 0.39, his lowest pace of his entire KHL career. Last year he had a 0.64 PPG, 0.48 the year before and 0.50 his first full season.

Of course, there are still 20 games remaining for him to improve his numbers and the real test will come in the playoffs for the power forward. Lokomotiv is near the top of their conference as the playoffs near and they are poised to take another run at a Gargarin cup championship.

At the end of this season, it is believed that Beryozkin will come overseas and join the Oilers for the 2026-27 campaign. He is a highly anticipated prospect and one of the top prospects in the Oilers system.

Maxim Denezhkin has cooled down

Starting the season off red hot, Oilers prospect Maxim Denezhkin has come back down to earth in recent weeks and months. In 36 games, he has scored 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) and has already set career highs in his KHL career.

Playing for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, Denezkin is a bit of a late bloomer at 25 years old finally hitting his stride. He made his KHL debut during the 2018-19 season for Lokomotiv and it took him until last season for Yekaterinburg to secure a full-time role.

At this stage it seems like a long shot for him to carve out a career in North America but given the big leaps he has taken, it seems hard to count him out. He was listed as a prospect primed to breakout this season and so far he has.

Nikita Yevseyev has taken a big leap

The 21 year old defenceman, Nikita Yevseyev has shown what his previous team clearly did not believe, he is a top-four KHL defender. He has not only set career highs but has tied his previous KHL total production.

In just 44 games on loan with Amur Khabarovsk, Yevseyev has scored three goals and nine assists for 12 points. The same exact point totals he had amassed in 105 games with Ak Bars Kazan over three seasons. He is also logging nearly 20 minutes or more many nights with Amur this season.

It was rumoured over the summer that Yevseyev may have been planning to move over from Russia to sign his entry-level contract with the Oilers. That did not happen but it could happen this year or next, depending on his contractual obligations and if he can secure a release, amongst other things.