Have Oilers finally found the player to break nasty trend with Russian prospects?

It’s not like the Edmonton Oilers have never had success with Russian players and Russian draft picks.

Bo Mironov, Igor Ulanov, Igor Kravchuk, Denis Grebeshkov all put in solid seasons on the Oilers blueline. Former USSR national team forward Anatoli Semenov had two good years on the wing in the early 1990s, as did Andrei Kovalenko in the late ’90s.

Winger Sergei Samsonov was a Top 6 winger on Edmonton’s 2006 Cup finalist squad.

And both Klim Kostin and Vasily Podkolzin have caused a stir on the Oilers in recent seasons with their strong physical play.

But that’s as good as it gets with the 27 Russians who have played for the Oilers over the years.

Far more Russian players have crashed out here rather than made it, and that includes numerous big name players such as goalies Nikolai