Oilers get bad news on Russian prospect Maxim Berezkin

The Edmonton Oilers were potentially anticipating Maxim Berezkin's arrival in the NHL.

Turns out, the Russian forward won't be coming to North America anytime soon.

Multiple Russian reporters, including Daria Tuboltseva, reported Friday that Berezkin has agreed to a two-year contract extension with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, which plays in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Berezkin's contract was set to be up, which would've made it easy for him to come to the NHL. He was a fifth-round pick by the Oilers in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Now, though, he's staying in the KHL for a couple more seasons.

MORE: Mitch Marner is making the Maple Leafs miserable

Yaroslavl Lokomotiv has won the KHL in back-to-back seasons, which probably makes it a pretty appealing place for Berezkin to stay.

In 2025-26, he had seven goals and 25 assists for 32 points in 64 games. A year prior, he had 42 points in 66 games.

Berezkin is a power forward, listed at 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds. He would've added some grit to the Oilers if he came aboard this summer.

Instead, Edmonton can't really count on him ever arriving in Canada.

He's already 24, and he'll turn 25 in October. The left winger would be 27 before ever potentially playing an AHL or NHL game.

It's fair if he has decided to stay closer to home and not take on the challenge of joining the Oilers' organization, but it's a bummer for Edmonton, which probably figured now would be the time that they'd finally get to see Berezkin up close and decide what he could provide to the franchise.

More NHL news:

• Henrik Sedin's son is excelling in a different sport
• Elias Petersson trade plans may be missing a key point
• Would the Maple Leafs trade Easton Cowan?
• Alex Ovechkin's mom is playing a role in his retirement decision
• Penguins have $42.5 million lack of excuse for letting Evgeni Malkin leave