Overcoming a mid-season leg injury, Nashville’s top prospect hoisted another Gagarin Cup as his point production skyrocketed, fueling anticipation for his potential NHL arrival later this year.
Yegor Surin's stock continues to soar, winning back-to-back KHL Championships with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on Thursday.
The Predators' 2024 22nd overall selection lifted his second straight Gagarin Cup with Lokomotiv, as they defeated the AK Bars, 3-2, in Game 6 to clinch the series.
Not turning 20 years old until August, Surin recorded 37 points in 57 games in his second full professional season. In the playoffs, he had one goal and five assists over 21 games.
From last season to this season, Surin took a 23-point jump in production from 14 to 37. He made that leap in the midst of breaking his leg in the middle of the season in December. However, Surin returned to action a little over a month later.
Surin is debatably the Predators' most sought-after prospect as they continue to count the days until his KHL contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season.
Predators assistant general manager and Director of Scouting Jeff Kealty said on May 13 that the soonest they could get Surin into the Predators system was toward the end of this coming season, and that he believes Surin is NHL-ready.
He wasn't the only Nashville-linked player to win the championship, as Alexander Radulov, who played with the Predators from 2006 to 2008 and the 2011-12 season, is also a part of Yaroslavl's championship squad.
Surin's arrival in the NHL will be the Predators' second time moving a star player out of the KHL. In April, Nashville signed KHL standout Vitaly Pinchuk to a 1-year, entry-level contract.
Judging by how well Pinchuk plays, the length of his contract, and if Surin is able to make it to North America by the end of next season, it's unknown if the two will play together.
Surin won't be in Russia for long, as he will likely return to Nashville for the Development Camp, which will be held at the end of June into early July. Dates and roster for the Development Camp have yet to be released.
One of three other prospects could join Surin in winning a championship this month. Cameron Reid (2025, 1st round), Alex Huang (2025, 4th round) and Hiroki Gojsic (2024, 3rd round) will all be competing in the Memorial Cup, which kicks off Friday in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Reid is the captain of the OHL Champion Kitchener Rangers. Huang plays for the QMJHL Champion Chicoutimi Saguenéens and Gojsic plays for the host Kelowna Rockets.