Drafted #44 · NJD
Nikita Shcherbakov 2026 NHL Draft profile.
Nikita Shcherbakov was drafted No. 44 (Round 2) by the New Jersey Devils in the 2026 NHL Draft, a D from Russia currently with Toros Neftekamsk, VHL. He was the consensus #36 prospect pre-draft. The static profile shows consensus rank, public source spread, latest season context, NHL Central Scouting status, and combine/event badges from existing local JSON only.
Scouting read
Shcherbakov is a massive defensive defenseman. Size-skating profile is safe, but reads need work (Smaht Scouting, Alex Appleyard). The concern is pace: he still has to prove the offense arrives quickly enough at the next level. The bet is a useful NHL defender if the puck play keeps moving forward. He is more of a second-round conversation, with a #13-#36 public range across 8 tracked lists. NHL Central Scouting has him 13th among International skaters. For context, he ranks 1st of 8 among VHL U19 defense since 2000 at a 35-game floor.
Generated from the local ranking, stat, style, NHL CSS, and curated public-note fields only — no private model or scraped projection.
Snapshot
Nikita Shcherbakov is attached to Toros Neftekamsk / VHL. Latest row: 35 GP, 4-6-10, 0.29 P/GP. His public rank range in this export runs from #13 to #36. Cohort context: his best qualifying season on file ranks #11 of 89 same-league, same-age MHL defenseman seasons since 2000 — a strong-band cohort standing (top 11%).
Rank rows
Rank rows are public source context, not a model projection. The source range helps show whether public lists are clustered or spread out.
| Rank | Source | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| #13 | NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING EU | FINAL RANKING |
| #20 | HPR/MALLOY | FINAL RANKING |
| #27 | ELITEPROSPECTS.COM | FINAL RANKING |
| #27 | SPORTSNET/BUKALA | MAY RANKING |
| #27 | DOBBERPROSPECTS | DECEMBER RANKING |
| #29 | SPORTSNET/COSENTINO | APRIL RANKING |
| #32 | DAILY FACEOFF | MAY RANKING |
| #36 | CONSOLIDATED RANKING | listed |
Season rows
| Season | Team / league | Split | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-2026 | VHL / Toros Neftekamsk | Regular | 35 GP, 4-6-10, 0.29 P/GP |
| 2025-2026 | MHL / Tolpar Ufa | Regular | 15 GP, 0-10-10, 0.67 P/GP |
| 2025-2026 | KHL / Salavat Yulaev Ufa | Regular | 7 GP, 0-0-0, 0 P/GP |
| 2024-2025 | MHL / Tolpar Ufa | Regular | 40 GP, 1-7-8, 0.20 P/GP |
| 2024-2025 | Russia U18 / Salavat Yulaev Ufa U18 | Playoffs | 9 GP, 1-3-4, 0.44 P/GP |
| 2024-2025 | Russia U18 / Salavat Yulaev Ufa U18 | Regular | 2 GP, 0-1-1, 0.50 P/GP |
| 2024-2025 | MHL / Tolpar Ufa | Playoffs QC | 2 GP, 0-0-0, 0 P/GP |
| 2023-2024 | Russia U17 / Salavat Yulaev Ufa U17 | Regular | 39 GP, 6-20-26, 0.67 P/GP |
Reference
Primary external reference: Nikita Shcherbakov on EliteProspects. Rank and stat rows are cross-checked against the public sources documented on About Data.