Perhaps the most intriguing Edmonton Oilers prospect lifted his team to the Gagarin Cup Final with a critical goal on Wednesday.

Maxim Berezkin (Beryozkin) scored in Game 7 double overtime for a 4-3 victory, sending his Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team on to the KHL championship series. They eliminated Avangard Omsk after beginning the semifinal by digging a 3-1 series hole.

The 24-year-old Berezkin and Lokomotiv are hoping to repeat as Gagarin Cup champions after capturing the title in 2024-25.

It’s anticipated that general manager Stan Bowman will finally get the former fifth-round pick to jump from his native Russia, with word that a one-year contract is in the works to join the Oilers. Both sides reportedly got close a year ago, but Berezkin elected to sign for another season in the KHL.

The big 6’4″, 212lbs, right-shot forward is one of Edmonton’s dark horse prospects as of late, especially after a strong 2024-25 season. That appeared to be a breakout for the winger, who scored 15 goals and 42 points.

In the Oilersnation Prospect Ranking last August, Berezkin was listed sixth.

This past regular season wasn’t as strong, though, with seven goals and 32 points, finishing fifth on his team in scoring. However, over the last playoffs, Berezkin elevated his game, as evidenced by Wednesday’s series clincher goal.

He’s registered 37 points in 56 playoff games in the past three seasons.

Lokomotiv, led by former NHLer Alex Radulov, will play Ak Bars Kazan. Game 1 is scheduled on Monday.

The Oilers have a variety of older prospects between the ages of 22-24, but Berezkin’s combination of skill and size makes some analysts believe he could translate his game to North America easier than some others in the prospect pipeline.

In other prospect news, the Oilers will lose the rights to Petr Hauser and Albin Sundin by June 1 if they don’t offer an entry-level contract to the two players. Hauser’s rights were part of the trade package in acquiring Trent Frederic and Max Jones. Sundin was a sixth-round draft pick in 2024.

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