Kirill Maksimov

A new month means a new Top 200 Fantasy Prospect Forward ranking and thus is where we turn for this week’s installment of The Journey.

Kirill Maksimov – EDM, up to 190 from 314

Kirill Maksimov is a rare breed for the Edmonton Oilers as he is one of only three Russians in the system. Ranked as a projected third or fourth rounder, Maksimov slid to the Oilers in the fifth where they picked him up with pick number 146. After one season in the organization, it’s beginning to look like a good value pick for them in that spot. Although born in Russia, Maksimov is a dual Canadian citizen and left home at an early age to come to Canada to play in the GTHL. He was picked by the Saginaw Spirit in the OHL priority draft where he played his first one and a half junior seasons scoring 21 points in 54 games in 2015-16 and 16 points in 37 games in 2016-17 before a January trade sent him to the Niagara Ice Dogs where his game really took off. In 29 games down the stretch for the Ice Dogs, Maksimov scored 15 times, marking Niagara’s fifth highest total despite playing only half a season with them, to go along with seven helpers. In the playoffs he scored four times in as many games to lead the Ice Dogs. His draft+1 year proved that the second half of 2016-17 was no fluke as he proceeded to lead the team in goals with 34, was third in assists with 46, and second in points with 80.

Across the OHL he was 20^th overall in goal scoring, finished tied for 19^th with 60 primary points, and tied for 23^rd with 0.97 primary points per game. A big part of his development has been the decision to shoot the puck more. He saw a 50% increase in shots per game, going from 2.42 in 2016-2017 to 3.66 in 2017-18. His shot is one of the things that the Oilers really like about him.

From Assistant General Manager, Keith Gretzky "I've seen him a couple of times and know the other (scouts) have seen him," said Gretzky. "He's got a great shot. He gets penalty kill time, which is good. He's learning the two-way game, so I like that part of his game. That was one of his knocks, was his skating." Word is the Oilers got Maksimov a healthy dose of time with their skating coach and he’s made great strides in this area.

 All-in-all it was a pretty encouraging year for the fifth rounder and Peter Chiarelli had seen enough to lock him up, signing him to an entry-level deal. He’s probably still a few years away but he’s a name to stash away.

Ty Rattie – EDM, up to 135 from 236

Much was expected from Rattie on the heels of being selected with the 32^nd pick in the 2011 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues.  The Airdrie, AB native put together incredible back-to-back seasons in his final two years of junior racking up 121 and 110 regular season points and another 69 over the course of 42 playoff games. But five years and three organizations later, Rattie has struggled to duplicate that level of success at the NHL level.

To this point in his professional career, he’s proven to be a very effective AHLer, eclipsing the 20 goal mark in three of the four full seasons in which he’s played including a career-best 31 as a rookie, which led all first-year AHLers. Spending the first three and a half years of his career with the Blues, Rattie was never really given a big role to showcase himself, averaging just over nine minutes a game. To play devil’s advocate, he may not have done enough to prove that he earned a larger look either. He was typically given some spot duty with the big club, a week here, a week there, playing a total of 30 games for St. Louis, scoring four goals and adding as many assists. His best year was in 2015-16 when he registered four goals and a pair of assists in 13 contests.

In 2017 he was plucked off waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes for a short stint before finding himself back in St. Louis a month later, again via waivers. Rattie made his way to Edmonton on July 1^st, coming to terms on a one-year deal with the club. He proceeded to have his best AHL season, registering 21 goals and 43 points in 53 games and earned a 14 game trial at the end of the year that saw him have the most productive NHL stretch of his career posting nine points in 14 games while seeing 15 and a half minutes of ice time. This was enough to convince Peter Chiarelli to bring him back on a cheap, one-year, one-way deal. The offensive skills have never been the question with Rattie. It’s his play away from the puck that’s been his Achilles heel. This might be his last shot to prove that he can play in the NHL and that alone should be enough to make any player give it everything they have to put together a productive season.

Brett Seney – NJ, up to 194 from 255

Seney, a sixth-round pick of New Jersey back in 2015, is a four-year product of Merrimack College. Like any player that spends four years in college, the one thing you want to see from them is progression and that’s exactly what he did. During his time in North Andover, MA, Seney’s point per game average went from 0.76 as a freshman to 0.82 in year number two, 0.86 as a junior and 0.87 in his senior year. Even more impressive, Seney led the team in scoring every year in which he was on campus, culminating with a team-best 13 goals and 32 points in 2017-18. Playing in the powerhouse Hockey East conference, Seney ranked ninth in conference scoring and was fifth in powerplay points with 18 of his 32 coming with the man advantage.  To cap things off he was named to the Hockey East Third All-Star team.

All out of college eligibility, Seney came to terms with the Devils on an ATO to finish the 2017-18 season, with his two-year entry-level deal kicking in at the beginning of the 2018-19 campaign. In just 12 games with the Binghamton Devils, he made quite an impression by posting eight points and firing 31 shots on net. He finished especially strong with six of his points coming in the final seven contests. A smaller player at just 5-09, Seney plays bigger than his size. But it’s something he might need to tone down against bigger and stronger players at the NHL level.

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As always thanks for checking out this week’s edition of The Journey. Give me a follow on Twitter @BradHPhillips. Make sure you pick up a copy of the Fantasy Prospect Guide right here! Enjoy your weekend!

More from The Journey:  Expanded Roles