Ivan Ryabkin

Final Rankings – Ryabkin’s a known quantity: the skill is there, the mentality is not.

Though its common for Russian prospects to have bogus ‘character issues’ attached to them, this is not the case here. Ryabkin used his shooting, handling and bulldog approach to score over a point-per-game, but was disengaged on both sides of the puck, refused to play within system, and was outright dirty.

He has top 5-10 skill, absolutely, but his approach will—and should—dissuade many NHL clubs.—Luke Sweeney

June 2025 – Ryabkin’s dramatic draft year concluded on a high note, helping his Muskegon Lumberjacks win
the Clark Cup against Waterloo. Ryabkin posted 30 points in 27 USHL games and was a factor
every night in the league. In Russia, however, he had a dramatic fallout with local club Dynamo
Moscow in the MHL with his coach publicly outing concerns with his weight and conditioning.
Strictly as a player, Ryabkin has excellent puck skills and scoring instincts, finding high danger
ice and making plays with poise. His vision and playmaking rank among the best in this class
and he flashed it much more with 34 assists in his D-1. Unfortunately, the character concerns,
conditioning, and undisciplined play has slid Ryabkin down and off our list at Dobber over the
season. The combine interviews will likely decide his fate. Whittaker Heart

January 2025 – Entering the season, Ryabkin was consistently ranked in the top 5-10 on many preseason draft lists. He set records in Russia’s junior league, the MHL, and produced better than Matvei Michkov and Ivan Demidov at the same age. Since then, Ryabkin has played in three different Russian leagues with minimal success (and playing time) before signing with Muskegon of the USHL. He’s produced three goals in four games, but has already been suspended three games after a dirty slew foot incident. Last season, when he was at his best, Ryabkin looked like a very physical, point producing C prospect. That’s his ultimate upside, but the likelihood of him reaching that has plummeted the last four months.  Jordan Harris