Hurricanes select Kurban Limatov No. 67 overall in 2025 NHL Draft

One of the top Russian blueliners available at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles found his new team when the Carolina Hurricanes selected Kurban Limatov with the 67th pick on Saturday.

Limatov, who turned 18 in March, cuts an imposing figure at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and is among the most devastating open-ice hitters in the draft. Despite his impressive physicality, he isn’t a prototypical blue-line intimidator.

A smooth skater who frequently played on his off right side for Dynamo Moscow’s MHL (junior) club, Limatov is an aggressive player on the rush who isn’t afraid to take risks on stretch passes and aggressive offensive zone pinches.

After a subdued MHL debut in 2023-24 (eight points in 30 GP), Limatov scored at a .5 point-per-game pace last season, along with another five points (and a whopping 41 PIM) in seven postseason games.

Limatov’s explosive stride and nasty disposition vaulted him up to No. 42 in Daily Faceoff lead prospect analyst Steven Ellis’s final ranking. Per Ellis, Limatov is “one of the best skaters playing in Europe right now, [and uses] his mobility to beat players at speed and get himself out of danger.”

If there’s a knock on Limatov (other than the ongoing uncertainty over when Russian prospects will arrive in North America), it’s his occasional lapses in judgment under pressure and limited experience against men with Dynamo’s KHL and VHL outfits.

Limatov has just one KHL game under his belt and none in the VHL, and further experience at those levels in 2025-26 will go a long way toward helping the Hurricanes evaluate their newest asset. He certainly hasn’t been a shrinking violet at the youth level, and his toughness will fit right in at the next level. If his transition into the pro ranks progresses ahead of schedule, Carolina could have a steal on its hands.

SORED BY bet365