2025 NHL Draft Profile: Maxim Agafonov

We're at the last of the full player profiles for this year's draft. After this, I'm getting into more lists of players that fit different themes, specifically for later round picks.

At this point, I've talked a lot about different kinds of defensemen for this year's draft, and about what I look for in prospects that interest me. For defensemen, size and mobility is a combination that is very desired by every scout and hockey team for a reason.

Guess who fits that type!

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

• Position: Right-shot defenseman
• League(s): MHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 198 lbs
• Birthdate: April 10th, 2007

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

• Bob McKenzie: 79th
• Corey Pronman: 79th
• Will Scouch: Not ranked
• Elite Prospects: 99th
• Scott Wheeler: 91st
• Dobber Prospects: Not ranked
• FC Hockey: 57th
• McKeen's Hockey: 104th
• HockeyProspect.com: Not ranked

So for team context, take everything I said about Alexander Zharovsky's team in Russia last week, because they played for the same MHL team. TL;DR, they were the best team in the much weaker conference. You can take all the same implications and asterisks to put next to Agafonov's performance.

That said, Agafonov is a player who has had been one of the better defensemen in Russia before this year, mostly for his defense. He was captain of CSKA Moskva's 15 year old team, and worked up their system until last year when he made his MHL debut for Krasnaya Armiya. Then this year, he moved to the Tolpar Ufa team, which is part of the Salavat Yulaev organization – that was Rodion Amirov's team, as a reminder.

Agafonov was a top pairing defenseman all year, and played in all situations. He led the team in average ice time with 20:24, he was a power-play quarterback and a top penalty killer – even scoring a shorthanded goal. He's also been part of Russia's sort-of international team, even if they only play against other age groups and Belarus.

The good thing that Agafonov's season included was a 12 game stint in the VHL, the semi-pro league between the MHL and the KHL. He got real playing time, averaging 14:18 and getting some powerplay time there as well. In those 12 games, he had 1 goal and 2 assists. It would have been nice to have seen him get some KHL games as well, but his play in a more difficult league than the MHL was good to see.

THE GOOD: DEFENSE AND PHYSICALITY, TWO-WAY POTENTIAL

The biggest strength for Agafonov is his defense and ability to get the puck out of his own end. A big part of that is him having pretty good size (6'2", 198 lbs) and being a good skater. He is good at taking away the middle of the ice in the neutral zone with good reach and stick work, plus good skating to angle attackers to the outside. In his own zone, he is reportedly a bit unorthodox but effective in his positioning and defensive aggression. He is good at the little defensive things as far as using his stick, size, and instincts. It's all earned him a reputation for being a safe and shutdown defenseman.

Agafonov's on puck retrieval and breakouts, where he adeptly manipulates forecheckers, is not quite at the same level but also solid. He uses the net well to create separation from forecheckers, and he can hit short and medium length passes to start the breakout with good accuracy. He can absorb the hits from forecheckers to protect the puck and make the first pass to alleviate the pressure. He's not very high end or dynamic at handling the puck, but he is capable of carrying it past an initial layer of forecheckers before making that first pass. He also shows flashes of more advanced plays like give-and-goes, but doesn't use it at a consistent basis.

Lastly, his offense in general is not much to write home about, but he has some promise. He does have some basic instincts and potential. He is quite good at activating into the offense effectively, sliding down the wall and looking to shift into a playmaking role or jumping into the rush. In the offensive zone, he's often seen rotating, working downhill, and creating options for puck carriers down low. There's potential for him to break out offensively in the KHL in the coming years, particularly with development in a more structured system and a defined role. He demonstrates an ability to walk the blue line effectively and snap off shots. He doesn't have a huge shot from the point, but can keep the puck moving effectively and creep in from the point when the time is right for it.

THE FLAWS: PASSIVE AND SIMPLE OFFENSIVELY

One area for improvement lies in Agafonov's skating, specifically when it comes to his explosiveness and agility. He possesses a "heavy" stride and lacks the acceleration required to consistently keep up with quicker attackers. His speed is actually pretty good, the issue is his ability to get up to speed, especially in quick bursts on the defensive side of things. This sluggish foot speed and subsequent delayed reads against faster opponents the big area of concern for his defense as his pace can hold him back from being a true shutdown defenseman. The agility and elusiveness is something that is more valuable for his ability to elude forecheckers on retrievals and carry it up the ice.

One bigger area of concern I have is that he has some consistency issues, and the cause of a lot of that is his tendency to be too passive. Some of this, I think, is coaching and trying to play a "safe" game, because he certainly shows flashes of more aggression on both sides of the puck. The issue, again, is that it's not consistent. While his safe approach with the puck is generally appreciated, there's I'd like to see him try to create more if only just to see if he can do it beyond just occasional flashes. He can struggle with decision-making, occasionally taking too long to make a play, leading to unnecessary turnovers. His game can appear messy or uncontrolled at times, marked by lunging and body positioning issues.

Some other area for improvement reading the play and maintaining consistent habits. Although he has an active stick and generally locks up play in the middle of the ice, his offensive production and impact will remain limited unless he makes some of those changes. He tends to settle for a "shoot-first" approach and simple passing rather than consistently generating significant scoring chances. Ultimately, Agafonov will be more of a long term project with an interesting physical profile and foundational tools that will require long-term development to realize his potential as a bottom-pair NHL defender.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Unfortunately, time ran out for me on these profiles this year. This was the last one I wrote, and I didn't have the same amount of time to rewatch his old games and capture as many highlights of his play. However, I do like Agafonov more than his stat line or scouting profile seems to indicate. I saw him a bit more while watching Zharovsky's games, and he was definitely a glitter player at times where I'd notice his contributions to the play.

Agafonov doesn't have the same level of high-end tools that Limatov or Engle have, but his particular strengths are more refined in the areas I care about the most. That's not to say he's someone I'd view as anything like a lock to make the NHL, but he's someone where I can see an easier path because of his strengths. The long-term project part will involve making those necessary improvements and getting his game to a higher level – both in terms of his skills, and in terms of the mental side of the game.

My problem with Agafonov has more to do with his rankings, especially by people like McKenzie and Pronman whose rankings tend to be more accurate to what actually happens on draft day. They have him a bit early compared to where Toronto will have their third round pick, and I don't like him enough to take him in the second round – not compared to some of the other players I think will still be available.

But if Agafonov does wind up being available with Toronto's third round pick, I would like him if the Leafs choose to take him.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!