What could the Edmonton Oilers have in forward prospect Maxim Berezkin?

The love affair with Russian players never really took flight for the Edmonton Oilers. Despite geographical similarities, the impact players from Russia have landed elsewhere over the last 35 years. Vancouver Canucks fans were dazzled by Pavel Bure’s rocket brilliance, and the Calgary Flames enjoyed Sergei Makarov’s incredible NHL debut season.The Oilers? Despite devoting a No. 1 pick on Nail Yakupov, there’s no Russian who played for the Oilers with a similar resume to Bure or Makarov. Boris Mironov and Sergei Samsonov were quality players, but didn’t impact the team in the same way.So, with rumours of Maxim Berezkin signing with the Oilers this spring alive and well, one can understand the average Oilers fan greeting the news with a shrug. Berezkin’s performance over the past two KHL seasons suggests he might make some noise should he come over.Scouting reportBerezkin is a big man who owns a skill set usually associated with playmaking centres. His size (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) suggests a power forward, and he can raze opposition defencemen and collect the puck routinely. He’s more of a passer than a shooter, as reflected in his numbers (seven goals and 25 assists in 64 KHL games) in 2025-26.His foot speed is good, and he should be effective playing an NHL “cycle” style. If Berezkin can manage doing that in Edmonton, he might be a solid bookend player with Vasily Podkolzin on the second line with Leon Draisaitl.The numbers Over the last two KHL seasons, Berezkin has delivered impressive offence and outscoring. In 2024-25, he averaged 2.4 points per 60, including all game stats (even strength, power play and penalty kill) while scoring 15-27-42 boxcars. His line outscored opponents 42-23 (65 percent goal share) at even strength. For the 2025-26 season, he scored 32 points in 64 games while playing 15:51 per game. He averaged 1.9 points per 60 in those minutes and had an even-strength goal share of 44-25 at even strength (64 percent share). His points per 60 in all game states last season (1.9) compared well among his teammates.