Danila Yurov

June 2023 – Yurov is an explosive athletic talent who was drafted in the first round by Minnesota in 2022. Despite only being 19 years old, Yurov took part in his third KHL season for the Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he posted 12 points in 59 games. Although he has hasn’t dominated the KHL league offensively, he remains an important piece to his KHL team and will continue to develop in Russia during the 2023-24 season. Yurov is on track to make the NHL in a couple of years and become a top-six forward right out of the gate. Nathan Leblanc

July 2022 – The Minnesota Wild have selected Yurov with the 24th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. Nick Richard

April 2022 – Yurov remained loaned to Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk of the MHL after November 30th and was only brought back to Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL once playoffs started. He continued to dominate the MHL, as he is too good for that league, with 36 points in 23 games and he was an assist per game player. The team is very high on Yurov long-term but will not trust him with ice time and games as he has played in 14 out of 17 games. His ice time has fluctuated greatly with a game as low as 37 seconds and one game as high as 8:41, but that eight minutes was an outlier as he has only two games over four minutes and usually averages between one to three minutes. Yurov is not getting the ice time to produce during the playoffs, even as he starts all of his shifts in the offensive zone, as there is nothing you can really do during one minute of a game unless you get lucky, but he has at least taken some faceoffs. On the plus side he is getting playoff experience which will help him with developing mentally. Yurov is what he is though: a fantastically skilled winger; a strong fast skater; and a smart two-way winger. Pat Quinn

December 2021 – Yurov has been caught in a tough spot so far this season – good enough to be on his KHL club’s roster, but still too young and inexperienced to earn the trust of his coaches and receive significant ice time. He has been dominant when loaned to the MHL, however, putting up 12 points in just six games. Those brief glimpses, along with his performance at last spring’s U18 World Championships, have been enough to maintain his draft stock but he could be surpassed if he does not see more playing time in the second half of the season. Nick Richard

September 2021 – Danila Yurov split his draft-1 year between two teams, Stalnye Lisy Magnitogorsk of the MHL and Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. He produced 25 points in 23 MHL games, earning an opportunity to play in the KHL where he suited up for 21 games in a minimal role, and finished the season with two points. It was in May at the U18s where Yurov put on a show, finishing the tournament with four goals and seven assists in seven games. As an under-ager, he really put himself out there to be considered a top prospect for the 2022 NHL Draft. The expectation is for Yurov to play his draft year with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, hopefully in a larger role compared to last year.

Yurov is a very smart two-way player, who reads the game a couple of steps ahead of his opponents. His best tool is his brain and he is always scanning the ice, making sure he is in proper position to provide his team success. Another good tool for Yurov is his motor –  it always seems to be on high, consistently providing help all over the ice. He combines his motor with strong straight-line speed to help his team in the transition game. He also plays very physically, not afraid to battle in the corners. His physicality is a reason why he is playing in the KHL because he can keep up with the physical aspect of playing against men. Danila Yurov is someone to keep your eye on throughout this season as he has a good chance to sneak into the top-five of this draft. Zack Szweras