Russia Stock Watch: Red Wings prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov can't be stopped
We’re nearing the All Star break in the Russian hockey world in what has been a somewhat strange season so far. New faces have popped up to be top prospects at the KHL level in major roles with their clubs. Others (you know who) have dominated their opponents only to be limited to bench-warming for the entire month of November.
The VHL has been an interesting league to keep tabs on, with a few notable names forced to backtrack down to this level from the KHL to varying success accompanied by some 2024 Draftees breaking in to become regulars.
As for the 2025 NHL Draft, it remains a thin group. Over the past month, a number of names stood out as potential risers, though mostly looking at later-round prospects. Here’s a look at how things are going for prospects across Russia’s three main leagues.
Stock Rising 📈
Dmitri Buchelnikov, LW, Vityaz Moscow Region (Detroit Red Wings)
There’s been no stopping Dmitri Buchelnikov this season. The second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft is currently tied for 5th in points in the KHL this year, along with a healthy lead in U23 production. With ten points in nine games this past month, he was easily one of the best players in the entire league.
What drives Buchelnikov’s success is his strong, counter-attacking style. Using his pace and off-puck sense, he’s shown the ability to take advantage of the opponents’ mistakes on defence, picking off passes in stride to flip momentum. That off-puck play transfers into the offensive zone very effectively as his movement sees him finding open ice to become available for passes to continue sequences.
From his game against Spartak Moskva on November 23rd: “[He] understands how to move through offensive zone plays, strong play recognition, good vision and playmaking ideas, no issues with finding open space to plant himself in. Picked up two primary assists, a simple pass to his defenceman at the point for a power play goal and a nice backhand saucer pass to his streaking linemate for a breakaway goal at 4-on-4. Showed additional pre-pass manipulation habits with last-second adjustments to work around sticks”
Magomed Sharakanov, D, Lada Togliatti (2025 NHL Draft)
In his draft-eligible season, Magomed Sharakanov was one of the most productive defencemen at the MHL level; however, the package he had was tailored more towards being a fun prospect rather than an NHL-calibre one and, two years later, he remains undrafted.
This season, he’s transformed onto a new level. Breaking into a full time role in the KHL after being loaned to Lada, Sharakanov has worked to turn his tools into a toolkit by toning down the highly individualistic and borderline chaotic aspects of his game to become an effective professional hockey player. He’s a great mover, puck handler, and his defensive game has steadily improved since he popped into the scene. Starting the season in a limited role, the six-foot-one blueliner is now playing 20 minutes a night with Togliatti and is the top point producer on their back end.
There’s a strong case for the 20-year-old to be drafted this year. The hockey sense still lags behind the rest of his game, but the high-end flashes remain prevalent as he’s worked his way to become a top rookie in the KHL this season.
Alexander Zharovsky, RW, Tolpar Ufa (2025 NHL Draft)
A first-year MHLer who’s playing in the Silver Division of the Eastern Conference is usually an unlikely NHL Draft-worthy name. However, Alexander Zharovsky is defying the odds and proving to be a player to watch ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft.
He managed to pick up at least a point in all but one of his nine games in November, including all four Gold Division sides he faced. A power forward profile, Zharovsky mixes together excellent leveraging of his size with delicate handling to dominate the possession game. He anticipates pressure and makes proper adjustments to handle his way out of just about any situation. While he could do with using it more often, his shot looks NHL-calibre.
Honorable Mentions: Arseni Ilyin (2026 NHL Draft), Matvei Kotkov (2026 NHL Draft).
Stock Steady ↔️
Andrei Krutov, LW, Torpedo-Gorky Nizhny Novgorod (Carolina Hurricanes)
Andrei Krutov spent the entire month of November in the VHL with Torpedo-Gorky and picked up nine points in eleven matches. It has been a promising start to his professional hockey tenure, though he has to remain in this category for now as his game is still lacking depth.
He’s proving to be a rush threat for his team, showcasing his great handling skill to beat defenders one-on-one to push play into dangerous areas. Krutov has also shown more defensive responsibility this year to fill in a supporting role to coincide with the offensive pop. The overall touches are limited, though. So far, he’s just been finding his game at this level and utilizing quick touches over prolonged possession play. It’s working out for him from a production standpoint, but there will need to be continued development and improvement to jump up a level of status.
Stock Falling 📉
Yevgeni Volokhin, G, HK Sochi (Montréal Canadiens)
It certainly hasn’t been a dream start to Yevgeni Volokhin’s professional hockey career. He played just two VHL games with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk before returning to the MHL and being traded to the SKA St. Petersburg system shortly after. SKA immediately sent him on loan to HK Sochi, where he plays his hockey now, but hasn’t found a rhythm early on.
His debut saw him save 21 out of 23 shots against Nizhnekamsk and that has been his only performance above a .900 save-percentage. On November 17th, he was called on to start against Barys Astana and was pulled after 24 minutes as he allowed three goals on just nine shots. It’s too early to draw any conclusions, especially considering he’s been a top netminder in the MHL over the past three seasons, but it’s been an undoubtedly worrying start.
CSKA Moskva’s Overflow
CSKA Moskva had a huge offseason, picking up big names in Denis Gurianov, Dmitri Samorukov, Yegor Afanasyev, Christián Jaroš, Nikita Okhotyuk, and more. As a result, a handful of NHL-drafted prospects have been forced out of the KHL almost entirely.
The pair of Blue Jackets prospects, Kirill Dolzhenkov and Nikolai Makarov, were both in the midst of cementing themselves as KHL regulars, playing 39 and 28 games, respectively with CSKA last season. Meanwhile, Devils prospect, Artyom Barabosha, continues to split games between the KHL and VHL, but hasn’t come anywhere near the ice time he was getting with the big club last year. All three have been predominantly featuring with Zvezda Moskva in the VHL with no way back into their previous roles at the KHL level.
Looking down a tier, Matvei Shuravin is yet to play a game outside of the MHL with the recently relegated Krasnaya Armiya. The Panthers’ third-rounder was called into the KHL eleven times in his draft-year campaign, playing around nine minutes a game, as well as, suiting up for Zvezda five times. It’s hard to see him moving up anytime soon given the depth of defencemen in the CSKA system, including Barabosha and Makarov.