2024 Ranking: <\/strong>No. 1<\/strong>1<\/a>Age: 20 (Feb. 15, 2005)<\/strong>Acquired Via: 2023 NHL Draft (Round 5, Pick 142)<\/strong><\/p>\n Height\/Weight: 6-foot-0, 181 pounds<\/strong><\/p>\n Mikhail Ilyin is one of the more intriguing prospects that the Penguins have, and most importantly they now have him under contract.<\/p>\n Ilyin signed with Pittsburgh \u2014 though he is expected to be loaned back to the KHL for 2025-26.<\/p>\n Ilyin has seen a great role with Severstal, which isn\u2019t always the case for young players in the KHL that often are relegated to extreme fringes of the lineup. He was able to improve his assists (23) and points (30) totals from last season as an extremely young player in the league. He\u2019s one of a very select number of players to manage 50+ career KHL points as a teenager (having turned 20 in February of last season).<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy and fun to see why on the highlights; Ilyin is a forward dripping with skill and a heady approach to the game. Everyone looks good on a highlight reel but Ilyin is a highlight reel creator. His playmaking ability and preference to pass is evident from his raw scoresheet and also reflected in most of the highlights. As you\u2019ll see in the last one, even when falling and going out of the play he\u2019s still got the wherewithal to keep at.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had took a bit of a step last year, which is great\u201d Pens assistant GM Jason Spezza said at last month\u2019s prospect camp. \u201cHe\u2019s going to go back to the KHL again next year, but we have him under contract now so we anticipate the year following that he\u2019ll come. I think with Mikhail just to get him here, and for him to kind of feel the environment is really important. So it\u2019s great that he\u2019s been able to make it and he\u2019s playing pro over there, so I think he\u2019ll learn from what he has here and then go over there and have another good year and get him over [here].\u201d<\/p>\n Pittsburgh\u2019s Director of Player Development Tom Kostopolous largely echoed Spezza\u2019s comments at the same venue.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was great to get to know him and I think it was really good for him to be around the other players and the players were great with him. So you can see he makes some really head plays out there, just like a couple plays where he didn\u2019t touch the puck and left it for someone and some really nice passes. The skating is the biggest area that needs to come. I think he can get stronger and really work on that skating. He has habits of slowing, plays down because he\u2019s so intelligent and we want him to play a bit faster.\u201c<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ilyin.png\"\/)
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