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FN Draft Profiles: Towering Russian defender Nikita Shcherbakov could add to the Flames’ blueline
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Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Ryan Pike
Jun 1, 2026, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 1, 2026, 01:41 EDT
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One interesting trend for the Calgary Flames over the past few years has been the influx of Russian-born players into the organization, to the point where some segments of the fanbase have dubbed them the “C of Red Army.” (Well done, fans.)
With that in mind, it’s definitely worth considering some potential Russian-born prospects that could follow Yan Kuznetsov or Matvei Gridin onto the NHL roster. On the back end, blueliner Nikita Shcherbakov boasts size and mobility. Could he be a fit for the Flames with their many early picks?

What do scouts think of Nikita Shcherbakov?

A product of Chelyabinsk, Russia, Shcherbakov is a left shot defenceman listed at 6’5″ and 187 pounds. He’s an October 2007 birthday, so he’s one of the older first-time draft eligible players in this year’s crop.
Unsurprisingly, Shcherbakov came up in youth hockey through Traktor Chelyabinsk’s system in his hometown, but he moved onto Salavat Yulaev Ufa’s system as he got to higher rungs of the youth hockey ladder. He’s been largely playing in the “correct” age bracket for much of the past few years – U16 hockey in his 15-year-old season, U17 in his 16-year-old season, etc – but made the leap to Russia’s top under-20 league, the Molodezhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (or MHL), for his 17-year-old season in 2024-25 with Tolpar Ufa.
He split the 2025-26 season between the first-tier pro Kontinental Hockey League’s (KHL) Salavat Yulaev Ufa, the second-tier pro All-Russian Hockey League’s (Vserossiyskaya hokkeinaya liga, or VHL) Toros Neftekamsk, and Tolpar Ufa in the MHL. He played most of his games in the VHL.
Over at Sportsnet, Pro Hockey Group’s Jason Bukala wrote about Shcherbakov’s season in his recent rankings:
Shcherbakov suited up at several different levels this season in Russia. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Alexander Nikishin from the Carolina Hurricanes. Nikishin took time to find his offence and the same might hold true for Shcherbakov. He produced 4G-6A at the VHL — second division pro — level and 10 assists in 15 games at the MHL junior level. Shcherbakov is an outstanding skater. He tracks down pucks ahead of opponents defensively and has the ability to skate up ice on his own or outlet and join as an extra layer. His combination of size, agility and potential offence are all attractive attributes.
Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis provided his thoughts in his May top 100 rankings:
There’s bit a bit of variance in Shcherbakov’s ranking publicly. I think he’ll either go late first or early second. The 6-foot-5 defender started the year in the KHL but has primarily played in the second-tier Russian league since the end of September. He’s strong, but he moves well – which is important for a guy his size. Shcherbakov has definitely grown on me a bit over the past few months, especially after watching him play well against his own age group. His game lacks high-end thinking, and he’ll likely slot in as a third-pairing defender. But he should be a reliable one at that. If he can add some extra offensive juice, I’d be more excited about him, but not every defender needs to be a wizard with the puck – especially when they’re defensively sound like Shcherbakov.

How did Nikita Shcherbakov produce this season?

In seven KHL games, all in September, Shcherbakov had zero points. (His ice time was below six minutes in four of his seven outings).
He spent 35 games in the VHL, alternating between VHL games and occasional MHL stints for the remainder of the year. He had four goals and six assists in 10 VHL games. He was second in points among all under-19 players in the VHL, and led under-19 defenders outright in points. (19 different under-19 players played 10 games or more in the VHL, so there was a lot of competition in his age group.)
In 15 MHL games, Shcherbakov had 10 points (all assists).

Could Nikita Shcherbakov be a fit for the Calgary Flames?

Hey, do you like Yan Kuznetsov, who became a favourite of the Flames coaching staff because of his defensive reliability? Well, Shcherbakov seems to be of that ilk, and as a left-shot defender could be a really nice compliment to the Flames’ puck-moving righties in their system. His mobility and ability to adapt to pro hockey are both good signs, even if you could probably make some criticisms of the quality of second-tier Russian pro.
Shcherbakov could also be an option for the Flames based on his usual placement on public draft boards. He often appears as a late first-rounder or early second-rounder, which means if the Flames hold onto their many second-round picks, he could be an option as they try to fill out the left side of their defensive depth chart.
He would be a bit more exciting if he had more perceived offensive upside, but there’s a lot to like about the big-bodied Russian defender.

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