PensBurgh Top 25 Under 25: #11 Mikhail Ilyin

A personal favorite takes a big step up the rankings this year

The 2024 version of our PensBurgh Top 25 Under 25 countdown continues with the biggest riser from 2023.

Graduates and departed players from last year’s list
The best of the rest
#25: Raivis Ansons
#24: Kirill Tankov
#23: Isaac Belliveau
#22: Taylor Gauthier
#21: Chase Pietila
#20: Emil Jarventie
#19: Kalle Kangas
#18: Joona Vaisanen
#17: Filip Kral
#16: Mac Swanson
#15: Jonathan Gruden
#14: Cruz Lucius
#13: Emil Pieniniemi
#12: John Ludvig

#11: Mikhail Ilyin, C/W
2023 Ranking: 21st
Age: 19 (Feb. 15, 2005)
Acquired Via: 2023 NHL Draft (Round 5 – No. 142 overall)
Height/Weight: 6-foot, 181 pounds

Elite Prospects resume:

There’s no two ways around it, we’re early adopters and big fans of Ilyin. The youngster made the biggest move in this year’s T25U25 countdown, going up 10 places from last summer and moving from a sleepy mid-draft pick to one of the most intriguing prospects in the Pens’ system today.

Finding information on Russians these days is challenging, but the little nuggets that drop about Ilyin are appealing. He stood out last season and made people take notice as the 18-year old who earned a sizeable role in the KHL at a young age.

The KHL pre-season for 2024-25 has already begun, and Ilyin is back to standing out. The kid wears No. 99 — so you know he’s a little audacious — and is back to highlight reel plays already. This pass from the front of the net is a dandy.

The release on this shot is a dandy.

It’s a bit trite and simple to see “smallish offensive winger, good hockey IQ” and think Jake Guentzel, but the parallels are natural with this style of play. It’s difficult to not go there with plays like these and clearly see it.

Now, there’s a long way between a 40-goal NHL scorer and a 18-year old Russian. Many reports aren’t enamored with Ilyin’s pure skillset, he’s not quite as dynamic as a Kirill Kaprizov or Matvei Michkov type of top-line NHL offensive weapon. But the arrow is pointing way up after Ilyin’s draft+1 success in the KHL.

Versatility has been good for Ilyin, he’s played left wing the in KHL and featured as Russia’s top line center in their U-20 (non IIHF sanctioned) events. His passing ability and playmaking does stand out.

As always with NHL draftees in Russia, the future is as murky and unknown for Ilyin. Elite Prospects has him under contract with Severstal through 2024-25, a commonality for players to work on one-year deals. Being as he’s with the KHL team literally right now for their preseason, he’ll be there again for his age 19/20 season. Like almost all Russian-trained athletes, Ilyin has not attended any Pittsburgh development camps or events in North America while a part of that system.

Ideally in summer 2025 or 2026 he’ll find himself without a contract and able to follow a similar path that Sergei Murashov did to attend the Pens’ summer camp, get a taste of hockey in the NHL world and make his own decision about the timing on when he wants to sign an NHL contract and take the next steps in his career.

But there’s no rush as of now. Ilyin is extremely young and only recently drafted. The Pens will hold his NHL rights indefinitely and have all the time right now to continue watching his development from afar until the time is right. The Wild had to wait on Kaprizov until his draft+6 and age-23 before he came over, in an extreme example of a delayed entry to America. The Pens will surely be hoping for a more expeditious timeline, but whether it’s a short or longer time, at this rate Ilyin is worth tracking and keeping an eye on for what is coming into focus as a potential quality player for the organization to one day add.