CRANBERRY — Typically, not a lot fuss and hubbub, or hype follows fifth-round picks. Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Mikhail Ilyin is the exception.
The Penguins drafted Ilyin within the fifth spherical of the 2023 NHL Draft, 142nd total, and he has already posted strong numbers in opposition to males within the second-best league on this planet, the KHL. Final season, the 19-turned-20-year-old Ilyin scored 30 factors, scoring seven targets in 62 video games for the Cherepovets Severstal.
And he did so not on one of many KHL powerhouses stuffed with Canadian gamers or prime Russians however on a workforce that completed fifth … in a six-team division.
Saturday, Penguins assistant basic supervisor Jason Spezza clarified that Ilyin won’t come to North America for the 2025-26 season however as a substitute keep yet one more season within the KHL earlier than coming to the Penguins group.
The prospect made his Penguins debut at Improvement Camp Saturday, in the future after an arduous journey schedule that included delays and waits pushed his Cranberry arrival into the wee hours of the morning.
He doesn’t communicate English and desires an interpreter (George Birman from the membership’s enterprise workplace). As coaches barked encouragement or instructions for the drills, Ilyin drifted. The event workers used a unique methodology of communication for the solidly constructed winger–delivering smiles and pats on the butt for jobs properly executed.
His first apply was comparatively low-intensity drills, actually none that might forge an NHL identification. Nonetheless, his talent set was rapidly obvious, with just a few nonchalant passes that the majority gamers wouldn’t make, not to mention a fifth-round decide on his first day.
Watch carefully—have a look at this slick little move by way of the skates by Ilyin pic.twitter.com/OBTEMAzcBe
— Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) July 5, 2025
Necessary for the Penguins group and followers, Ilyin indicated he’ll make the leap to North America quickly.
“That is one of the best time, one of the best age, the best age,” Ilyin stated (translated by PHN).
And the way does Ilyin see his sport?
“The most effective a part of my sport is (hockey) IQ. I can see the performs. The (issues) I’ve set to work on, that’s positively the beginning velocity,” stated Ilyin by way of Birman.
When he does arrive, the younger Russian would possibly rapidly be one of many prime prospects on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins roster, particularly as others make the NHL roster over the following 12 months.
The 6-foot, 180-pound participant seems larger than he’s listed. As a left-handed shot, he has performed on the best wing, however such affirmations and selections will evolve greater than be determined after just a few days in a growth camp.
