Hey! It’s been a minute!
The Seattle Kraken picked Russian-born Maxim Agafonov from the Ufa Tolpar system 134th overall! He measures up at 6’2, 198lbs, and he had 14 points in 35 games in the MHL; Russia’s junior league.
Here’s EliteProspect’s Take on Agafonov:
A 6-foot-2, right-shot, physically mature defenceman, Maxim Agafonov should be a player of high interest to NHL teams looking to add back-end prospects on the second day of the draft.
Agafonov can already execute most plays in the defenceman’s handbook. He prevents access to the middle in the neutral zone, using his stature and stick work to force attackers wide, and picks up threats in his zone, taking away sticks, disrupting runs, and shielding the front of the net. Although he contains more than he engages opponents, there’s a physical side to his game that should only grow in the professional game.
– EliteProspects.com Draft Guide 2025
When retrieving pucks, Agafonov is capable of manipulating forecheckers, using the net to create some separation from them, and even launching the puck under sticks to teammates in space. He has some give-and-goes, downhill activations, and shot fakes in his repertoire, too.
Our Take
Agafonov according to EliteProspects and honestly most draft prognosticators should’ve been gone in the late 3rd or middle of the 4th round, so for him to fall to Seattle like this, especially with his game being so mature already, is pretty sweet! It’ll take him a bit to get over here, and maybe even a little help from the team (some prospects have to buy themselves out of their contracts in russia. I know, it’s wild.), but with plenty of ice-time and game-time, this young man could be a fun prospect to keep up with!
And not just because finding info is already a nightmare for Russian prospects, but because he’s clearly ready for bigger, better minutes to show what he’s capable of.
His stats!
Let’s all welcome Maxim to The Deep!