New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Three Russian Prospects Hot Out of the Gate

NEWARK, NJ - JUNE 30: New Jersey Devils Nikita Shcherbakov (83) skates during the New Jersey Devils 2026 Development Camp at RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House at Prudential Center on June 30, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire v

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What is the story about?

With the KHL season underway, two Russian defenders and a goaltender have started off strong. This post covers their hot starts to the season.

Daniil Orlov

By now, Devils fans should be familiar with Orlov. The 22-year-old defender was drafted by the Devils in the 4th round back in 2022. Orlov broke out in a big way last season for Spartak averaging 21:12 minutes a game as one of their top defenders and adding ten goals and eighteen assists in 66 games.

Heading into Sunday, Orlov has started the season with three

assists in his first four games, a 51 point pace.

Nikita Shcherbakov

It’s early yet, but 6’5” defenseman Nikita Shcherbakov is already looking like a shrewd second round pick from this summer’s draft. While not chosen for his offensive prowess, the mobile defenseman has been off to a great start, scoring his first KHL goal and adding an assist in his first three games. More importantly, Shcherbakov seems to be settling into a KHL role after only playing 7 games in the highest Russian league last season and splitting time between the MHL and the VHL.

Daniil Rusakovich

Goaltender Daniil Ruskakovich has picked up where he left off last year and is 4-0 in his first starts of the MHL season with a 1.98 GAA and .930 SV%. Joseph Stanislau wrote a recent piece on the netminder for Pucks and Pitchforks. It’s worth a read in the link below.

Around the Pool:

Defenseman Sigge Holmgren had a big night for Brynas IF U20.

Holmgren had only 7 assists all of last season after missing an entire year to injury, so the offense is hopefully the start of a return to form.

Lastly, something that’s always great to see. The Devils prospects reported to camp this past weekend and apparently everyone has been spelling Silaev wrong.

For those who missed the 5-4 OT loss in the first prospect game of the season against the Islanders, the highlights are here and led by a great performance by Matyas Melovsky. Silaev also looked great in his first North American game and Mikael Diotte showed some offensive flourish even if he had a bad pinch later on. For a detailed take on individual performances, check out James Nichols’s report here. It’s a great video. Nichols has high praise for Silaev, Edwards, and Casey and opines towards the end that he would be surprised if Amadeus Lombardi did not make the Devils out of camp.