Welcome to The Oil Rig’s 2026 Oilers prospect rankings. Today we look at Maxim Berezkin.
Who is he?
Berezkin is a winger with a huge frame and a scoring touch. He has delivered as a scorer on a routinely competitive team that has authored some long playoff runs. Berezkin has undoubtedly been a big part of back-to-back championships teams, as he was the year prior on a team that lost in the final round. Entering his age 25 season, he has a proven track record in one of the world’s better leagues.
His professional development
Though Berezkin was amongst the top scorers for his teams in each of the past three seasons, his production took a substantial hit this past season. After promising back-to-back seasons, it might look as though Berezkin regressed. Still, he was fifth on his team in points scoring this past season. The season prior he ranked second, fourth the year before that.
Berezkin has a KHL contract for each of the next two seasons. It remains to be seen if there is truly another level to his offensive game, but he will be a core player for his team over that time.
Berezkin’s strengths
There are a lot of things to like about Berezkin’s game. The size is always among the first things mentioned. There are somewhat conflicting reports about his skating, but taller players tend to be more effective than they look. At the very least Berezkin can navigate the ice, especially attacking laterally through the middle of the ice off of the rush.
This rush offence was the hallmark of Berezkin’s game at lower levels. He is a confident playmaker, but his shot is good enough to beat goalies from high danger areas. Berezkin looks to attack the more dangerous middle of the ice and has the skills to take advantage of that ice in multiple ways.
The good news is that Berezkin has been developing nicely, rounding out his game and leveraging his strengths in other areas. This applies to cycle offence, where his playmaking can be leveraged from the halfway, his frame can be leveraged at the net front, and his shot can make him a slot option. Furthermore, his championship experience has shown in the defensive zone, where his playmaking can help with zone exits.
Growth opportunities
Those details, areas of the game in which Berezkin can expand his influence, will be crucial to his potential success in the NHL. He will need to be willing and able to embrace some of the dirty work at the net front that current Oilers Zach Hyman and Vasily Podkolzin do. He will need to use his speed to be a forechecking presence as well. Kasperi Kapanen has shown growth in that area over his NHL career.
Berezkin is not the same as those players. He does not have the overdriven intensity of Hyman or Podkolzin, nor the speed of Kapanen. He does have a bigger frame, and perhaps more playmaking chops than any of those current Oilers do. Regardless, every little bit of development will help Berezkin if and when he does make the jump to the NHL.
Big picture
Although Berezkin might already be an intriguing and affordable middle-six option for the Oilers this season, it will be another two years before the experiment can happen. Were he in training camp this season, he might be jostling to prove himself against Isaac Howard as wingers fighting to unseat a middle-six role. There is no guarantee for either, though, and the Oilers might be forced to send either or both to the AHL. With a new head coach and championship expectations, the Oilers lineup is tough to crack for any rookie. In some sense this might have been a factor in his staying in Russia.
There should be a desire to take these extra two years to truly round out his game in the KHL. His situation is good, as an important and dependable player on a strong team should afford him the opportunity to continue his transformation, as well as add to his resume as a scorer.
Ultimately, Berezkin profiles as a complementary offensive option. His skills should translate well to the NHL if he continues to go to work in contested ice. With an intriguing blend of offence off the rush, off the cycle, and at the net front he could help round out the skillset of an NHL line. Circumstantially, his traits could give him an easier path into the lineup than a more highly touted prospect like Howard.
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