Oilers loan F Kirill Maksimov to CSKA Moscow

From yesterday, per the Oilers official Twitter account:

I’ve read conflicting information about whether he’ll be brought back for the start of NHL training camp or not, but it does seem notable that the company verbiage includes “to start the 2020-21 season.”

It’s a decent bit of business for the Oilers to get another one of their prospects some playing time while the AHL remains on hiatus until at least December. Maksimov joins Dmitri Samorukov, Theodor Lennstrom, Filip Berglund, Philip Broberg, and Markus Niemelainen on the loan list.

Maksimov, 21, was a 5th round pick in 2017 who got his first taste of professional hockey this season, putting up an unremarkable 5-8-13 in 34GP. Here’s his coach, Jay Woodcraft, on his development from this season:

“I’ve seen real growth in Krill Maksimov’s game over I would say the last six weeks. He was fighting for ice time, he was fighting for position within our lineup an over the last little while, the line of [Colby] Cave, Maksimov and [Luke] Esposito has been one of our best and one of our most consistent. And while his personal offensive numbers aren’t where he would want them to be, he’s learning how to find his way in this man’s league, but he’s commanding respect of his teammates, he’s commanding his share of the ice, and so doing so garners the respect of opponents. He’s playing hard and heavy game, he’s a big reason why our team is 4-1-1 since the Christmas break.”

- Jay Woodcroft, Bakersfield Condors Head Coach in conversation with Jason Gregor in January.