Zharovsky’s progress and Kantserov’s incredible performance. Regular season’s top youngsters

Commentator for KHL TV channels and expert at KHL.ru, Anton Vasyatin, presents the top ten most prominent young players (U23) in the league based on their performance in the third month of the regular season.

10. Matvei Polyakov, forward (2004, SKA)

Player’s rating: 9.60

Without exaggeration, Matvei Polyakov’s debut regular season in professional hockey—just a year after spending most of his time in the JHL—was outstanding. In 63 games for SKA, he recorded 29 points, the eighth-best total this season among players under 23. Some might call that a modest result, but it’s important to note that nearly all the players ranked above him already had KHL experience. Among those in contention for Rookie of the Year, Polyakov actually shared the title of top goal scorer in the regular season, with 16 goals—level with Salavat Yulaev’s Alexander Zharovsky. Of those 16 goals, 13 came at even strength, and four were game-winners. This is particularly impressive considering his role at the start of the season, when he mostly played in the bottom six with around ten minutes of ice time. As the season progressed, Polyakov earned a spot in the team’s top line. He is a very fast and hard-working winger who contributes effectively in all situations.

9. Yaroslav Busygin, defenseman (2003, Avtomobilist)

Player’s rating: 10.52

It was already possible to predict that the regular season would go well for Yaroslav Busygin as early as the opening period of the season in Togliatti. Although Avtomobilist lost that game, the defenseman effectively created two of his team’s goals in his first shifts (1+1) and looked very confident. He was clearly not intimidated by the competition in his new team following his move from Vityaz. With 24 points, Busygin finished as the second-highest scoring defenseman for the Motormen, trailing only the more experienced Jesse Blacker (who, unlike Yaroslav, played on the power play). Of those 24 points, nine were goals, eight of them at even strength—placing him among the league’s top ten defensemen in that category. Most importantly for Avtomobilist, which dealt with numerous injuries on the blue line early in the season, the young player appeared in nearly every game, playing 64 out of 68. With a plus-25 differential, he finished the regular season as the top plus-minus player among those under 23. Busygin has been one of Avtomobilist’s most consistent performers, quickly adapting to his new environment.

8. Prokhor Poltapov, forward (2003, CSKA)

Player’s rating: 11.50

Although the path to becoming CSKA’s top scorer this season was a long one—especially given how strongly Daniel Sprong started—it was Prokhor Poltapov who finished the regular season atop the Moscow team’s scoring charts. Notably, his 40 (16+24) points almost exactly replicate his total from the previous year, highlighting his consistency. Among U23 players, the forward ranked third in goals and fifth in total points during the regular season. He is the only Russian player with seven game-winning goals (tied with Andrew Poturalski and Daniel Sprong for the league lead). There were stretches this season when nearly all of CSKA’s goals from game to game were linked to Poltapov’s play. He continues to be effective both with and without the puck, consistently applying pressure on opponents. In recent years, it has become hard to imagine CSKA without him.

7. Alexander Zharovsky, forward (2007, Salavat Yulaev)

Player’s rating: 11.79

One of the main contenders for Rookie of the Year in the 2025–2026 season, Alexander Zharovsky maintained his status despite an injury that caused him to miss almost all September. He made a triumphant return at the end of the first month of the season, setting up both of Salavat Yulaev’s goals in a game against Avangard. He finished the regular season with 42 points, the third-best total on the Ufa team. More importantly, no player at his age had ever recorded that many points in a single KHL regular season—the previous record of 36 points by Eeli Tolvanen had stood for eight years. Of his 16 goals, five were game-winners. Right now, he is one of the most creative players in the entire league, capable of generating scoring chances out of nothing.

6. Mikhail Ilyin, forward (2005, Severstal)

Player’s rating: 11.93

The second-best playmaker (30 assists) and third-highest scorer (44 points) in the regular season among players under 23 is Mikhail Ilyin. Although he only recently turned 21, the forward is already rightly seen as the most important player for the Lynx. He is only the fourth player in league history to reach 100 points by this age (previously this was done by Vladimir Tarasenko, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Kirill Kaprizov). For various reasons, the previously successful line of Ilyin, Aymurzin, and Pilipenko broke up this season, but that did not stop Mikhail from having the most productive regular season of his career. The Severstal leader, no matter who he was on the ice with, was involved in a large number of game-winning goals and scored six of them himself (three of those came in overtime). It will be interesting to watch Ilyin in the playoffs, since this is a serious challenge for him — up to now, the forward has never scored in postseason games.

5. Semyon Vyazovoi, goalie (2003, Salavat Yulaev)

Player’s rating: 11.98

The first month and a half of the regular season went badly for Salavat Yulaev, and Semyon Vyazovoy was affected as well, looking nothing like himself. However, by the end of October the situation had stabilized, and over time the young goaltender firmly claimed the role of Ufa’s starting netminder, a job he handled very well. In the first stage of the season, Vyazovoy played 53 games and recorded 31 wins (4 of them in shootouts). He managed to post 3 shutouts. With a 2.13 goals-against average and a 93.1% save percentage, he finished the regular season in the top five goaltenders. Vyazovoy is only 23 years old, but already next season he could move into first place for most games played among Russian goaltenders in Salavat Yulaev’s KHL history (Alexander Samonov currently leads with 125 appearances, while Vyazovoy is now closing in on the 100-game mark).

4. Yegor Surin, forward (2006, Lokomotiv)

Player’s rating: 12.66

This regular season by Yegor Surin will go down in history. His 37 points are the best result ever by a U20 Lokomotiv player; no one had ever reached that mark before, neither in the KHL nor in the old Superleague days. If a year ago Surin’s role on the championship team was limited, now his place in the top-6 forwards is beyond doubt. On Bob Hartley’s team, the young forward finished as the fourth-leading scorer despite missing several games through injury. Most often he lines up with Alexander Radulov, forming what is quite possibly the most aggressive duo of such high‑skill forwards in the entire league. On top of his offensive impact, Surin dished out 122 hits, the highest total among the team’s forwards.

3. Dmity Gamzin, goalie (2003, CSKA)

Player’s rating: 13.27

Dmitry Gamzin was the best goalie of the regular season in goals-against average (1.49) and shutouts (8), and ranked second in save percentage (93.8%). Even if Igor Nikitin’s system is quite comfortable for goalies to play in, you simply do not put up numbers like that without a high level of skill and confidence. Out of 40 regular-season games, Gamzin won 24 (including 2 in the shootout), and in four more he backstopped his team to reach extra time. He had never appeared in the KHL playoffs before, but now there is every chance not only that he will make his postseason debut, but that he will be CSKA’s starting goalie in most games.

2. Yegor Vinogradov, forward (2003, Torpedo)

Player’s rating: 15.14

Arguably the biggest breakout of the regular season was the performance of Torpedo’s leading scorer, Yegor Vinogradov. He had been progressing steadily, winning titles in both the JHL and VHL, but on the KHL team he was usually used in a third- or fourth-line role – a job he handled well. This past regular season, however, showed a different side of Vinogradov: he is now the undisputed leader of his hometown club. He started the year solidly, but really caught fire in the second half of the season after being put on a line with Tkachyov and Atanasov. Vinogradov finished with 54 points, including 23 goals; among players under 23, only Roman Kantserov of Metallurg produced more. The key now is to maintain this form and prove himself in the Gagarin Cup playoffs, where Vinogradov has yet to score a goal in each of the last three seasons.

1. Roman Kantserov, forward (2004, Metallurg)

Player’s rating: 19.55

There was never any doubt about the first-ranked player: over the course of the regular season, Roman Kantserov broke several league records and also finished as the top goal‑scorer of the first stage. At 21, Metallurg’s leader put up 64 points and 36 goals. The previous goal record in this age category (here we look at U22) had stood for seven years and belonged to Kirill Kaprizov, who scored 30 times for CSKA. The points record was more recent – three years ago SKA defenseman Alexander Nikishin posted 11+44 – and Kantserov has now confidently rewritten both marks. It is hard to imagine anyone coming close to these numbers in the next few years. Along with the young forward’s talent, you also have to factor in Metallurg’s season as a whole: Andrei Razin’s team marched steadily through the regular season toward its first Continental Cup, which had a clearly positive impact on Kantserov’s production. It is also worth noting that this year he has been playing center, a position he had hardly ever occupied before.