Talking about MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg winger Daniil Prokhorov feels like slowly unveiling the dream prospect of someone who wants their favorite team to take the biggest swings on the draft floor.
Russian? Yes… Six-foot-six? Oh, yes… A booming shot that he uses a lot? Oh, God yes… Likes to play with a violent edge? Goddamn… Will either be a very good top-six scorer or not even in the NHL at all? You got me!
Prokhorov played his entire season in the Russian junior league, the MHL, for the feeder team of second division team, Dynamo St. Petersburg in the VHL. He finished second on the team with 20 goals, but only had seven assists earned, leading his total of 27 points to be sixth in scoring amongst his teammates.
Among all draft-eligible skaters in the MHL this season, Prokhorov finished 22nd in total points but his 20 goals earned him the seventh spot. With no other knowledge, if you said you thought a player with these statistics would go in the first 50 or so selections of any draft, you would be laughed at. But it’s the physical dominance that Prokhorov is capable of that is intriguing to so many teams and if that can be partnered with his solid ability to put the puck into the back of the net.
Pre-draft rankings
#18 by NHL Central Scouting (EU Skaters)
#56 by Elite Prospects
#79 by Daily Faceoff
#79 by TSN/Craig Button
Bio
DOB: April 27, 2007
Birthplace: Krasnodar, Russia
Position: Right wing
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 218 lbs
Shoots: Left
Statistics
What’s there to like?
There are not many other players available in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft that has shown the ability to be as physically imposing and threatening while on the ice as Prokhorov has in the MHL this season. Maybe it’s because he is 6-foot-6 while playing in a junior league, but he consistently was able to toss himself around and shake possession loose to the advantage of his team and played an otherworldly crash-bang-shoot sort of style.
Daniil Prokhorov 6’6 209lbs
MHL 43GP 20G 7A Playoffs 8GP 4G
His season came to an end today. Easy to see how a GM could fall in love with the size and skating. Protects pucks well. In transition drives the puck well. Lack of playmaking is a concernClips from today#nhldraft2025 pic.twitter.com/ZAIoIVMZJ4
— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) April 19, 2025
It does feel like Prokhorov’s total game is like when you figure out one combo that works in a fighting game, so you just keep on spamming it until it becomes way too annoying for your opponent and no one plays with you, or they know exactly how to counter it. The large Russian winger just uses his body and improved puck protection to get to better areas of the ice, to then unleash his shot. He’s not making any significant scoring plays with his teammates or threading the needle with some royal road passing — it’s just bulldozing his way to the net to hopefully rocket a puck in. Straight-line offensive hockey.
As soon as Prokhorov is anywhere near the opposing net, it’s like he puts the gas pedal in his brain, straight to the metal. Whether it’s skating behind the net for a wraparound attempt, work behind the goal line to try and drill the puck in, or just putting his shoulder down and driving straight through multiple defenders; Prokhorov wakes up when he sees a chance.
There is a whole lot of game-breaking attributes to like when it comes to this large teenager. Because he really is that, a game breaker. Typically, you would think of a player with his statistics and overall impact as a low possibility to even make it to the NHL, but since his tools of being an extremely large winger with a nose for violence and high-danger scoring chances, are so tuned in, he might just be able to strike fear over in North America.
But, of course, there are some flaws.
What’s not to like?
Now that we know what we like about Prokhorov — his high-level ability to physically dominate his opponents while possessing some solid stickwork and a good shot — let’s think about just every other aspect of the game of hockey. Such as making connecting plays with his teammates in the offensive zone, being a threat to win the puck back in the defensive zone, or just simply moving the puck up the ice.
Prokhorov has extreme tunnel vision. As we have said, as soon as he even sniffs a chance, he just goes for it but that also includes not seeing the much better options that are available to him on the ice. That’s generally how he scored so many more goals than assists this season, by just willing his 20 goals into existence.
He is like a final option nuclear bomb. You tried to be all cute and steadily win the possession game, or peck away at some scoring chances with other more talented players that impact the game much more overall. But sometimes you just need that final hammer. The big red button to push that will force a goal from the game.
For even more annoying analogies, Prokhorov is like a three-outcome player in baseball (a batter that will either hit a home run, walk, or strikeout). The St. Peterburg winger will score a goal, have a shot on net, possibly do some puck recovery play, but then absolutely nothing else. What he does do though, he does very well, though.
When it comes to Prokhorov, it is all about how much you trust the tools to overcome a potential lack of hockey sense as he rises up the ranks. Do you mind if while he has a hulking frame and a shot like a cannon, that he might not be able to make full use of those tools because he lacks the drive that other prospects have? Then he might just be someone you really want your favorite team to take. If not, then he might just be expecting him to flame out as a non-factor.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
Fairly well, honestly. The Flyers have lots of players in a similar mold. The forwards they have recently selected all will put in an immense amount of effort on every shift, but ended up slipping down to them because of either size or a true high-end ceiling. It’s a lot of very solid prospects but no one that can potentially dominate. Prokhorov, is everything works out, can be that and it would be a very fun swing for the Flyers to make.
Selecting a prospect with tools that gives him an advantage no matter where he plays, and hoping that he can put everything else together, has not been seen in the Flyers prospect pool since the days of selecting gigantic defensemen in the first two rounds.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
Definitely. With the 22nd and 31st (or 32nd) overall picks in the first round, and then a flurry of picks in the top half of the second round, the Flyers could have multiple chances to take Prokhorov. And you can just imagine teams seeing his pro-level frame and goalscoring ability to be enough of a reason to take a swing on Prokhorov around that range, too.
What scouts are saying
“Whenever Prokhorov stepped on the ice in the MHL, he made his presence felt. He threw his body around like a madman, running over opponents to a comical degree and never missing a chance to finish his check. At his size, with his motor and desire for violence, it’s easy to see this side of his game being an overwhelming strength at the NHL level, too. Given his improved puck protection mechanics, he’s also going to be an immovable object for the vast majority of defenders when cycling the puck down low.
At his current stage, Prokhorov is almost entirely net-focused as an attacker. He attempted an absurd number of wraparound plays throughout the season, never missing an opportunity to try to cut to the net from below the goal line. Off the rush, he’d take advantage of his quickness by looking to beat defenders wide, then drop his shoulder and drive the net. What’s also behind his 20-goal season is his shot, which grades out as an above-average tool on our scale. The handling skill popped in flashes, too.
As things stand right now, though, there are also some significant drawbacks to Prokhorov’s game. He’s very good at what he does, but the quantity of the things he does is limited. His hockey sense graded out as a clear below-average NHL projection: He suffers from tunnel vision, consistently missing opportunities to involve his teammates. He didn’t show much skill as a playmaker overall, only recording seven assists in 51 MHL appearances between the regular season and the playoffs. He could also become an even more frightening forechecker through a better understanding of which routes and angles to take.”
— Elite Prospects 2025 NHL Draft Guide
“He’s enormous, with a great shot he uses very often, and certainly gets the puck into scoring areas a ton. Many of the numbers I’ve tracked so far are real, real good, with physicality, forechecking ability, huge transition involvement, and strong dual threat offense. He is a player that I believe is going to be a bit of a project though. He struggles to gain separation from opponents with his skating ability at the MHL level, and his skill level while good in one on one confrontations is a bit more questionable in transition on pass receptions. Finding targets to hit with passes is also a bit mixed, with questionable pass vision and quick decisions leading to turnovers. I need to see more on him and track more data, but he’s an interesting package of tools that I could see a team take much higher than this and leave in Russia for a time. If his name came up earlier than I have him slotted, I could take the chance on him, but I’m not sure as I’m sold as others on him at this point.”
—Will Scouch, scouching.ca
“Prokhorov is gigantic, really skilled and slick, with a quick and dangerous release on his shot, and he moves pretty well for a guy who’s listed at 6’5”. He has a really enticing and exciting toolbox to work with, but it’s not quite there yet. The passing, playmaking, and intensity need to come a ways, and he’s physical as you might expect, but I find he tends to use his physicality in unproductive ways too often: taking runs at guys without much care for actually getting the puck, and not leveraging his frame to shield off pressure as much as he could. So he has a ways to go, but there’s a ton of runway with him for him to grow and improve, and the combination of skill, size, and finishing ability is a good foundation to build off of.”
–Gray Matter, Smaht Scouting
Now with Prokhorov come and gone, we’re adding another name to the poll! It has to be University of Michigan commit, center Will Horcoff.
“Horcoff’s defensive dimension stands out as a separator. His game is fueled by physical skill and proactive reads, and his range, strength, and subsequent lane clogging further enhance his disruption qualities. Off the backcheck, he’s a goliath, pressuring puck carriers to the outside, swinging into inside positioning, and leveraging positioning and processing to create stops. Furthermore, he’s a skilled playmaker who leverages time and space to break down defenders into overreactions.”
–-EliteProspects 2025 NHL Draft Guide