Penguins sign prospect to entry-level contract

The Penguins have reached an agreement with one of their prospects, announcing on Saturday that they signed Mikhail Ilyin to a three-year, entry-level contract.  PuckPedia reports that the agreement will carry a cap hit of $851,667.

The 20-year-old winger was a fifth-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2023, being selected 142nd overall.  At the time, he had primarily played at Russia’s MHL level but in 2023-24, that changed as he put up 12 goals and 17 assists in 64 games with KHL Severstal Cherepovets with his only MHL playing time coming in the playoffs.

This year, it was more of the same.  Ilyin played in 65 games with Severstal and while his goal total dipped to seven, he improved in the assist department as he collected 23 of those.  He played just twice in the MHL, notching four helpers.

It would be surprising if Ilyin was in the plans to play regularly in Pittsburgh in 2025-26.  It’s not often that Russian players play regularly in the AHL either at this stage of their career so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ilyin loaned back to Cherepovets for next season.