Edmonton Oilers' top prospect's actions could cost him his NHL career

The Edmonton Oilers prospect reportedly changed his mind about coming to North America after winning a second consecutive Gagarin Cup with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

Instead of honoring the entry-level contract expectations that had been building for months, Berezkin has signed a two-year extension to stay in the KHL.

This is a far worse outcome for Berezkin himself than it is for Edmonton.

Berezkin is already 24 and turns 25 in October. When this new extension expires, he will be approaching 27.

A fifth-round pick from 2020 arriving in the NHL at 27 with zero games of North American experience is not a prospect anymore. That is a long shot.

The KHL is a strong league, but it is a known environment for Berezkin at this point. He has 306 regular season games and two championships on his resume.

There is nothing left to prove in Yaroslavl. The challenge he actually needs is adapting to smaller ice, a faster pace, and an NHL checking game that punishes habits the KHL forgives.

The Oilers have already shown they can develop late-blooming prospects like Josh Samanski and Viljami Marjala directly into their lineup.

Losing Berezkin stings, but it does not break their depth strategy. Stan Bowman has other avenues to fill bottom-six roles without waiting on a player who has now delayed his NHL arrival twice.

Winning feels good until it becomes the reason you stop pushing yourself. Berezkin has every right to stay where he is comfortable.

Whether that comfort serves his long-term career is a very different question.