Nikita Shcherbakov
2026 NHL Draft Eligible
Position: D, Shoots: L
H/W: 6-Foot-5, 187 Pounds
Date of Birth: 2007-10-23
Nikita Shcherbakov entered this season as one of the highest-touted prospects coming out of Russia. He was exceptional at the U17 and U18 leagues as a 16-year-old with .66 points per game in the U17 circuit and five points in six games after his call-up to the U18 level. The production slowed down in his D-1 season as he had to adjust to the MHL, but he played well enough to start his draft-eligible season with a quick stint in the KHL. He was eventually demoted to the VHL, where he has spent the most time this year. Since then, he has bounced between the VHL and MHL. In just 13 games for Toplar UFA, Shcherbakov quickly matched last season's MHL point totals, garnering 8 assists in well under half the games played. His style of play may not result in high-end offensive production in pro leagues, but it is noteworthy that he was trusted with a defensive role in higher levels of play at such a young age while continuing to increase his production when playing within his age group.
Shcherbakov is next in the line of towering, smooth-skating Russian defensemen — a mold of players like Anton Silayev and Dimitri Simashev who came before him. The 6-foot-5 lefty is known for his high-end skating and long reach, using those abilities to shut down rushes and take away space in the defensive zone. He has the build that NHL coaches love: that big, hard-to-play-against, shut-down defenseman with hands and feet that makes you wonder if there is more to unlock in his offensive game. His frame has landed him in the first round in the eyes of some scouts despite his raw and mostly simple style of play. Shcherbakov is a project that will have NHL teams fantasizing about what type of player he’ll become as he puts on weight and matures his game.
There is a long development path ahead of him. He needs to add some aggression, physicality, and hockey sense to fulfill the defensive specialist projection that has been put upon him. Some may see it as a positive to stay in Russia for the next 3 years. At the MHL level, he has shown confidence with the puck on his stick and more aggression/activation in all zones. A call-up to the VHL or KHL would allow him to begin to use his frame, to learn how to feel comfortable under pressure, and gain some confidence taking more risks in the offensive zone. The higher skill and physicality of the KHL would continue to test him and help develop a more physical side to his game. However, getting him to North America as soon as possible, under the control of whoever drafts him, would let him adjust to the smaller ice and develop his hockey sense playing in a more structured environment. Heading overseas would help him work on his positioning, reads, and breakouts — areas that he has had trouble with at the pro level so far.
Skating
For a 6-foot-5 defenseman, Shcherbakov’s calling card has been his mobility. His footwork is clean and technical, allowing him to manage the point and occasionally walk the blue line. When he's able to gather speed and activate, Shcherbakov utilizes crossovers and his long reach to protect the puck and create some space for himself. He tends to pair his crossovers with quick cuts and explosive edges to either cut to the slot or turn back and look for passing options, whether it is in the offensive zone along the half wall or evading forechecks in his own end. While his top speed isn't the greatest, he is incredibly rangey and covers ice well with his reach, long strides, and decent lateral mobility. That lateral mobility is on display when he uses back crossovers to shut down rushes, take away space, and make up for positional errors.
Despite his quality skating and footwork, Shcherbakov struggles defending the dump-and-chase game and can get caught stepping up on opponents who are attacking with speed. This is largely due to his poor acceleration and slow transitions from backward to forward skating. When he is the first one to the puck, forecheckers are usually all over him, forcing quick decisions that do not always end positively. This also hinders him from being utilized in breakouts and in transition, as he takes a long time to build up speed. He is rarely able to separate himself from aggressive forwards or catch the opposition flat-footed in the neutral zone. At his current weight of 187 pounds, there is reason to believe he can gain strength in his lower half. Adding some explosiveness to his first few steps would take his defensive game to the next level and make him a decent threat to break out the puck himself.
Here you see Shcherbakov bait a defender to the opposite side of the net before popping off his edge and turning up ice but never hitting that next gear.
A shift that shows the range of skating skills he possesses. He defends the blue line using his backwards crossover to move laterally, gets the poke check, and jumps up ice. He then lifts the stick and uses his long strides to enter the zone before attempting to cut into the high slot. He regains the puck at the point and opens his hips to draw the defender wide before cutting inside a second time, ultimately losing the puck. He gets back in position on defense, manages his gap well, taking away the shot and forcing a difficult pass. He then follows the play up ice, collecting a loose puck and opening his hips again while protecting the puck before spinning and attempting a shot on net.
A good example of his technical ability and footwork. Shcherbakov pushes off his edge and moves laterally along the blue line. Adding more explosivity in that lateral movement would allow him to open up more shooting lanes or give him opportunities to attack the high slot.
Shcherbakov gathers speed along the blueline before driving wide. He cuts back on his edge and finds an open man across the ice. He recovers the puck again at the blue line and is just able to side-step the defender to keep the attack going.
GRADE: 55
Shot
Shcherbakov is not much of a threat with his shot, scoring just 3 goals in the past 2 years. During his time in the KHL, he played very passively in the offensive zone. When he would receive the puck, he'd quickly dump it into the corner to try to continue the cycle. He’s far more confident at the MHL level, occasionally joining the rush, driving wide, or cutting to the net and getting shots off. His release is slow as his long arms take time to gather the puck and load up his shot. It’s a shot that doesn't really challenge goaltenders all too much. From the point, he does a really nice job keeping his wrist shots low and hard to set up his teammates for deflections and rebound opportunities. He does possess a decent slap shot with a big wind-up that might look a bit stronger than it is while not getting the puck on net consistently. Adding some muscle to his frame could turn the shot into something that defenders would second guess jumping in front of.
Shcherbakov’s big slap shot, keeping it low and creating a rebound opportunity.
His catch and release in open space, a slow gather and a shot that doesn't quite challenge, but he's getting to the right spots
Here he shows that middle-driven mentality, cutting to the slot and getting his shot off cleanly.
After a defensive play, Shcherbakov waits at the point, keeps the puck in the zone and takes a low wrister that results in a goal.
GRADE: 47.5
Skills
For a player who is not known for his offense, Shcherbakov displays some quick hands at times — especially in the MHL. He's able to utilize his long reach and edges to move the puck away from forwards, attacking downhill when breaking out of zone. Despite this ability, getting the puck out of the zone cleanly is a struggle at times, either mishandling the puck when a second wave of forwards pressure him or forcing breakout passes that don't connect often. His passes, especially at higher levels, lack touch and turn into chip clears that are usually recovered by the other team. This is especially prevalent at higher levels when he's given less space and doesn't trust in his own abilities to beat a guy 1-on-1.
In the offensive zone, he shows some flashes of skill, occasionally challenging wingers and, as previously stated, cutting to the middle to try and get shots off from the high slot. His puck skills allow him to get to the inside, but the shots are not always clean as his slow release allows defenders to get their sticks in the way before he can get it off. There have been some moments when he activates deep into the zone, where he is able to corral loose pucks and drive the net, cutting through defenders and getting shots in tight. There is also an awareness to find cross-ice passes to crashing forwards when he does happen to find some time in the offensive zone. At higher levels, he keeps his offensive game extremely simple. Rarely does he try to use his skill or even connect with passes, defaulting to sending the puck around the boards on cycles or making passes to teammates who are no more than 5 feet from him. If he can apply that same confidence that he shows in the MHL to the pro leagues, he’ll begin to find more production at those levels.
Shcherbakov uses his frame and hands to evade pressure and protect the puck, but fails to get a clean exit.
A standard shift at the pro level. Curling back to the point and sending the puck in deep a couple times to keep the cycle going.
Showing confidence at the MHL level, tapping the puck out of the air, turning away from pressure, driving the net, and almost beating the goalie with his reach.
Entering the zone with speed, he takes the puck into the slot showing shot before hitting a crashing forward for a deflection.
Despite his flashes, he has a tendency to mishandle the puck, causing him to not execute his ideas. Here, he attempts a move at the blue line but is forced to curl back and try to shake off his man. When he turns up ice, he lacks the explosion in his crossovers to separate, fails to protect the puck by moving it to the outside where the defender is ready to lift his stick and he turns it over in the NZ
Here, Shcherbakov activates along the half wall, protecting the puck and, with quick hands, throws a nice pass to the front of the net
GRADE: 52.5
Smarts
This is the area of the game where I’ve seen the most cause for concern. A big reason why a move to North America sooner (to learn this hemisphere’s style of play) would really help Shcherbakov in the long run. He is an extremely gifted athlete with a pro build, and he’s used that to mask some significant issues with how he thinks and sees the game. His positioning can be really poor at times. When setting up for breakouts, he often puts himself in areas where he is not an option to support his fellow defenseman. When defending the rush, if they are attacking the opposite side of the ice, he glides towards that half of the ice, leaving any forward entering his side uncovered. In the offensive zone, he creeps up in the slot or along the boards at inopportune times, leaving odd man rushes that he fortunately has the skating ability to at least give a decent backchecking effort on.
At higher levels of play, he struggles to read plays quickly. On retrievals, he doesn’t pick his head up to look for options, and he’ll just send the puck up the boards, hoping it will find a friendly stick. There are times when he can get caught puck-watching and end up flat-footed in his own end, leaving an open man in the slot. He’s slow to make decisions on whether or not to engage guys along the boards and won’t force them to make plays under pressure.
On a more positive note, his in-zone defending and positioning/gap control when forwards try to enter the zone on his side of the ice is mostly fine. He knows when to pressure at the blue line to break up plays with his stick and when to close out along the boards to force chip-ins. When he’s moving his feet, he can apply pressure in his own end and, when given time and space, there is a chance that he will make intelligent passes, especially in the offensive zone.
Shcherbakov with a poorly timed pinch, finds himself on the wrong side of the ice, but is able to recover with his skating ability and force a pass.
After mishandling a puck, Shcherbakov assists in a board battle where his team recovers the puck, but he is slow to recognize this and isn't able to set up behind the net for the breakout.
Unable to find a breakout pass off the draw, he manages to get the puck in deep and supports along the half wall in an attempt to keep the puck in the zone. He then gets back and engages in a NZ battle before receiving a pass in his own end. With all four of his teammates open and only one forechecker pressuring, he hesitates on his decision and turns the puck over.
Despite looking over his shoulder twice and recognizing a threat entering the middle of the ice, he gets caught puck-watching, drifting too far towards the corner, leaving his man wide open in the slot for a goal.
GRADE: 47.5
Physicality/Compete
Shcherbakov's physicality is a perfect encapsulation of his overall projection. It’s been mentioned ad nauseam, but the frame and growth potential within his build is massive; it’s just a matter of application. At his current weight of 187 pounds, it’s incredibly reasonable to expect him to put on more weight as he matures and focuses on building mass. He could turn into a physical force on the back end, but he has yet to show a knack for throwing the body around and finishing checks. It could be the overall lack of strength currently, as the checks and board battles that he does engage in are generally soft. He shoves guys with little success or wraps them up with his limbs instead of using his body to pin them to the boards. When he eventually bulks up, you would hope (and frankly expect) these habits turn into something more imposing.
Shcherbakov may play a more passive and low-event style of play, but that doesn't mean he won't compete when necessary. Due to that poor positioning, he is almost forced to hustle to the area of the ice he's supposed to be defending. Lesser players may give up in these situations, but Shcherbakov's incredible range and willingness to get there aid him greatly in disrupting the play. When he does activate in the offensive zone, he can put in good work along the boards using his reach to get to the puck first and send it down to the corner. In board battles or even in open ice, he can use his size to gain leverage or tie up sticks, forcing loose pucks. He can utilize that leverage in front of the net as well, lifting the stick of big-bodied forwards, even from a distance if necessary. Shcherbakov also does a great job blocking shots; clogging up the middle of the ice, never shying away from shots, and putting in that extra effort to extend out and get his stick on shots that would normally be out of reach.
A couple of examples of Shcherbakov wrapping up forwards with his arms to take them out of the play.
Shcherbakov throwing some hits. The third one is a good example of the power he can eventually show as he grows into his body.
These hits are examples of his lack of strength preventing him from maintaining his balance through them. However, with added weight, these types of hits could eventually become heavy checks that make opponents think twice about stepping into his zone of influence.
After a long shift, Shcherbakov is looking to change but hustles back to the slot to force a shot. He follows the play from there, getting his stick on a follow-up shot, then gets his body in the way of another shot before getting off the ice.
Shcherbakov using his size and reach to tie up opponents' sticks and force a loose puck
An example of Shcherbakovs’ willingness to get in the shooting lane and block a shot
GRADE: 57.5
OFP: 52.375
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.