<p>Early in his tenure as the general manager of the Calgary Flames, Craig Conroy has already displayed an affinity for Russian players, of which he&#8217;s acquired quite a few either through the draft or by way of trade.</p>
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<p>Come June 27, Conroy will get yet another opportunity to add some Russian talent. One of the names that Flames&#8217; brass may be interested in at the draft is Kurban Limatov, a left-shot defenceman produced by the MHL, Russia&#8217;s top junior league.</p>
<h2>Scouting report</h2>
<p>Limatov was born in Moscow in March of 2007 and has played in Russia for the entirety of his minor and junior hockey career. Most recently, the 6&#8217;3&#8243;, 198-pound blueliner was playing for MHK Dynamo Moskva of the MHL.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-final-top-120-steven-ellis-schaefer-misa-obrien-martin-frondell-desnoyers-hagens-martone">Daily Faceoff&#8217;s</a> Steven Ellis ranked Limatov 42nd in his final rankings and had this to say:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;There’s a lot to like about Limatov’s complete package. The 6-foot-3 defender is mobile, hits as hard as anyone and is a great puck distributor. He’s one of the best skaters playing in Europe right now, using his mobility to beat players at speed and get himself out of danger. Limatov can put anyone on their rear end, and if you get him first, he’ll get you back with a hard shot. I think he needs to be smarter at distributing the puck under pressure, but the raw talent is there.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://dobberprospects.com/2025/03/25/dobber-prospects-2025-mid-term-rankings/">Dobber Prospects</a> had Limatov at 35th in their midterm rankings and gave this scouting report:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;With a lack of eyes on Russian prospects (especially more so with the departure of Ivan Ryabkin) the scouts still watching will still see value in Russia’s hockey system, starting with Kurban Limatov. He won’t win any awards for flash, but Limatov has a high effort level and may be one of the most pro-style defenders in this class for how calm and collected he is in his own end. Despite being a top point producer among draft-eligible defenseman in the MHL, Limatov’s still working on how to take on an offensive role more often and with his focusing on playing a safer game, he doesn’t take many risks that may lead to a turnover. He is safe enough to be a bottom-pairing defenseman in the NHL.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Samuel Tirpák of <a href="https://nhlentrydraft.com/reports/26671/">Future Considerations</a> gave this synopsis on Limatov:</p>
<blockquote><p>“Limatov is a prototypical modern two-way defenseman. He has the size, reach, and strength to excel in battles, winning many along the boards and in the net-front area, which is crucial. His skating allows him to keep up with the pace of the game and, based on this viewing, potentially even push the pace when he has the puck on his stick.”</p></blockquote>
<h2>The numbers</h2>
<p>Kurban began his junior hockey career in the 2023-24 season, playing 30 games for his hometown MHK Dynamo Moskva. His rookie MHL campaign yielded a goal and five assists in those 30 contests, he was a +11. He also went pointless in five playoff games in 2024.</p>
<p>In 2024-25, his first full MHL season, he posted a much healthier point total, registering eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in his 46 regular season games, he&#8217;d add an additional five points in seven playoff games.</p>
<p>After showing immense growth to begin his sophomore season, Limatov was rewarded with an appearance in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), playing in one game for Dynamo Moskva, albeit in a limited capacity.</p>
<h2>Availability and fit</h2>
<p>The Flames should be in on some left-handed defenceman of Limatov&#8217;s prototype, considering the disproportionate amount of smaller, offensively inclined, right-handed prospects they already have in the system.</p>
<p>As I previously mentioned in my profile on a similar defenceman in this year&#8217;s draft named <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/haoxi-simon-wang-could-be-the-perfect-addition-to-the-flames-prospect-pool">Simon Wang</a>, current top defensive prospects <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/06/flames-prospect-zayne-parekh-scores-100th-point-of-2024-25-ohl-season/">Zayne Parekh</a>, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/02/27/flames-prospect-hunter-brzustewicz-is-growing-and-adapting-in-first-season-with-the-wranglers/">Hunter Brzustewicz</a> and <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/12/calgary-flames-prospect-henry-mews-quietly-having-historical-season/">Henry Mews</a> will each need a big, left-handed partner to balance out their game.</p>
<p>Along with Wang, Limatov is another versatile defender who can provide some stability on a future pairing with any of Calgary&#8217;s offensively-gifted backend prospects.</p>
<p>Various outlets rank Limatov in the mid-30s to late-60s, indicating that he&#8217;ll likely be a second-round pick. The Flames currently own one second-rounder at 54th overall, don&#8217;t be surprised if they opt to spend it on Limatov or someone similar, in an attempt to build out their future blueline.</p>
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Early in his tenure as the general manager of the Calgary Flames, Craig Conroy has already displayed an affinity for Russian players, of which he's acquired quite a few either through the draft or by way of trade.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2109" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="328"></div>
Come June 27, Conroy will get yet another opportunity to add some Russian talent. One of the names that Flames' brass may be interested in at the draft is Kurban Limatov, a left-shot defenceman produced by the MHL, Russia's top junior league.
<h2>Scouting report</h2>
Limatov was born in Moscow in March of 2007 and has played in Russia for the entirety of his minor and junior hockey career. Most recently, the 6'3", 198-pound blueliner was playing for MHK Dynamo Moskva of the MHL.

<a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-draft-rankings-final-top-120-steven-ellis-schaefer-misa-obrien-martin-frondell-desnoyers-hagens-martone">Daily Faceoff's</a> Steven Ellis ranked Limatov 42nd in his final rankings and had this to say:
<blockquote>"There’s a lot to like about Limatov’s complete package. The 6-foot-3 defender is mobile, hits as hard as anyone and is a great puck distributor. He’s one of the best skaters playing in Europe right now, using his mobility to beat players at speed and get himself out of danger. Limatov can put anyone on their rear end, and if you get him first, he’ll get you back with a hard shot. I think he needs to be smarter at distributing the puck under pressure, but the raw talent is there."</blockquote>
<a href="https://dobberprospects.com/2025/03/25/dobber-prospects-2025-mid-term-rankings/">Dobber Prospects</a> had Limatov at 35th in their midterm rankings and gave this scouting report:
<blockquote>"With a lack of eyes on Russian prospects (especially more so with the departure of Ivan Ryabkin) the scouts still watching will still see value in Russia’s hockey system, starting with Kurban Limatov. He won’t win any awards for flash, but Limatov has a high effort level and may be one of the most pro-style defenders in this class for how calm and collected he is in his own end. Despite being a top point producer among draft-eligible defenseman in the MHL, Limatov’s still working on how to take on an offensive role more often and with his focusing on playing a safer game, he doesn’t take many risks that may lead to a turnover. He is safe enough to be a bottom-pairing defenseman in the NHL."</blockquote>
Samuel Tirpák of <a href="https://nhlentrydraft.com/reports/26671/">Future Considerations</a> gave this synopsis on Limatov:
<blockquote>“Limatov is a prototypical modern two-way defenseman. He has the size, reach, and strength to excel in battles, winning many along the boards and in the net-front area, which is crucial. His skating allows him to keep up with the pace of the game and, based on this viewing, potentially even push the pace when he has the puck on his stick.”</blockquote>
<h2>The numbers</h2>
Kurban began his junior hockey career in the 2023-24 season, playing 30 games for his hometown MHK Dynamo Moskva. His rookie MHL campaign yielded a goal and five assists in those 30 contests, he was a +11. He also went pointless in five playoff games in 2024.

In 2024-25, his first full MHL season, he posted a much healthier point total, registering eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in his 46 regular season games, he'd add an additional five points in seven playoff games.

After showing immense growth to begin his sophomore season, Limatov was rewarded with an appearance in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), playing in one game for Dynamo Moskva, albeit in a limited capacity.
<h2>Availability and fit</h2>
The Flames should be in on some left-handed defenceman of Limatov's prototype, considering the disproportionate amount of smaller, offensively inclined, right-handed prospects they already have in the system.

As I previously mentioned in my profile on a similar defenceman in this year's draft named <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/news/haoxi-simon-wang-could-be-the-perfect-addition-to-the-flames-prospect-pool">Simon Wang</a>, current top defensive prospects <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/06/flames-prospect-zayne-parekh-scores-100th-point-of-2024-25-ohl-season/">Zayne Parekh</a>, <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/02/27/flames-prospect-hunter-brzustewicz-is-growing-and-adapting-in-first-season-with-the-wranglers/">Hunter Brzustewicz</a> and <a href="https://publish.flamesnation.ca/2025/03/12/calgary-flames-prospect-henry-mews-quietly-having-historical-season/">Henry Mews</a> will each need a big, left-handed partner to balance out their game.

Along with Wang, Limatov is another versatile defender who can provide some stability on a future pairing with any of Calgary's offensively-gifted backend prospects.

Various outlets rank Limatov in the mid-30s to late-60s, indicating that he'll likely be a second-round pick. The Flames currently own one second-rounder at 54th overall, don't be surprised if they opt to spend it on Limatov or someone similar, in an attempt to build out their future blueline.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365:</strong>
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Russian blueliner Kurban Limatov would fit nicely into Flames’ future plans

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