The North Bay Battalion has taken care of their import roster for the 2025-26 season after signing their second-round selection from the 2025 CHL Import Draft.
The Battalion signed their first-round pick, Russian forward Evgeny Dubrovtsev, last week. With Ukrainian forward Ihnat Pazii returning, the club had one import spot left to fulfill.
North Bay Battalion Sign Russian Import First-Round Pick
The import signings in the OHL continue, with another first-round pick from the 2025 CHL Import Draft committing. After the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/ohl/latest-news/niagara-icedogs-import-player-roster-finalized-sign-third-pick-from-the-2025-chl-import-draft">Niagara IceDogs were able to sign all three of their draft picks</a>, the North Bay Battalion have joined in on the action.
On Monday, the organization announced that they have signed Belarusian forward Arseny Pronin to an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement. With the Minsk, Belarus native signed, all three import spots have now been finalized for North Bay.
Pronin, 18, was picked 78th overall in this year’s import draft. He recorded 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 32 games for Loko-76 Yaroslavl of the MHL during the 2024-25 season. He’s a left–shot forward who likes to play his off-side right wing.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Arseny to our program. He should slot in well with our team, adding a much-needed left shot to balance out our forward group. Arseny is a big, strong winger who can play both left and right wing and give our coaches multiple options to roll out the lines,” said North Bay Battalion Director of Hockey Operations Adam Dennis.
Pronin possesses the size to play “Battalion-style” hockey. At 6-foot-2 and 187 pounds, his presence off the flank will make North Bay a harder team to play against.
Last season in the OHL, there were two Belarusians who played in the league. Seattle Kraken prospect Andrei Loshko was a top-six forward for the Niagara IceDogs, completing his junior hockey career with 70 points (34 goals, 36 assists) in 67 regular season games, and added six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in five playoff games.
The other Belarusian was Washington Capitals prospect Ilya Protas, who put together one of the greatest seasons by an import player in OHL history.
Protas aided the Windsor Spitfires in improving from the bottom of the barrel, recording 124 points (50 goals, 74 assists) in 61 regular season games, and added 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists) in 12 playoff games. His 124 points are the second-most by an import player in OHL history, ironically behind another Belarusian, Sergei Kostitsyn, who scored 131 points in 2006-07 with the London Knights.
The last Belarusian to suit up in a Battalion jersey was Nikita Tarasevich, although he wasn’t classified as an import player since he played his minor hockey career for the Detroit Little Caesars organization.
(Top photo credit: Terry Wilson/OHL Images)
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