Dimian Zhilkin has opened his NHL draft season the way a captain wants to: driving play, filling the net and keeping Saginaw near the front of his mind. The 17-year-old Spirit right wing has seven goals and five assists in six Ontario Hockey League games, putting 12 points and 25 shots on goal on the board as he begins the road toward the 2027 NHL Draft.
Key takeaways
- Zhilkin, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound right-shot winger, is viewed as a potential first-round selection in the 2027 NHL Draft.
- The Moscow-born forward produced 36 goals and 39 assists for 75 points in 59 OHL games in 2025-26.
- He will play for Team CHL at the 2026 CHL USA Hockey Prospects Challenge on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2.
- Zhilkin committed to the University of Michigan for the 2027-28 season.
- His older brother, Danil Zhilkin, was chosen by the Winnipeg Jets with the 77th pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.
A captain’s draft-year push
Zhilkin is the captain in Saginaw and is focused on the details that carry through a long OHL schedule: daily work, reliable shifts, hard competition and turning individual growth into team wins. He also wants this season to sharpen his independence and the habits he will need beyond junior hockey.
There is plenty of production behind the early-season surge. After breaking out with 75 points a year ago, Zhilkin enters his draft campaign with a bigger role, a letter on his chest and a major showcase already circled on the calendar. His selection to Team CHL for the Prospects Challenge came early in the roster process, an opportunity he called a significant honor.
The 2026 event will put top CHL talent on the ice against USA Hockey’s leading prospects over games Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. For Zhilkin, it is another checkpoint in a season that will lead to the 2027 draft and, after that, his planned move to Michigan.
His path to this point included a difficult first OHL year. A practice injury one week before the 2024-25 season sidelined him for Saginaw’s opening 13 games. The recovery tested him mentally as well as physically, but he came away believing patience and trust in the process can turn a setback into progress.
By his second OHL season, the game and the league had become more familiar. Greater confidence followed, and the Spirit rewarded his growth by naming him captain at age 17.
From Moscow to the OHL
Hockey first took hold for Zhilkin in Russia while he watched Danil shoot pucks in the family garage. A left-handed stick handed down by his father never felt right; Dimian kept turning it over and grew into a right-handed shooter. Mini-stick games, garage sessions and time on the ice fed the obsession, even if his first experience on skates was far from smooth.
He initially disliked the falls and frustration that came with learning to skate. Eventually, the pull of speed, puckhandling and lifting a puck off the ice changed that. He played organized hockey in Russia for more than three years.
A Toronto summer camp for Danil changed the family’s direction. Danil was offered a place on a Canadian winter team, and the family chose to relocate to support the brothers’ hockey futures. Dimian’s mother, Anna, along with Danil and sister Alice, moved ahead, while Dimian and his father remained in Russia for 2 1/2 years as they waited for visas.
Once they reached Canada, Zhilkin joined a team during the season without speaking English. The adjustment was steep, but the common language of the rink helped. Time around teammates and friends gradually made everyday conversation easier.
Danil’s own draft milestones gave the younger Zhilkin a close-up look at the road ahead. Guelph selected Danil 14th in the 2019 OHL Draft, a moment Dimian watched from the family kitchen and imagined for himself. Three years later, he attended the NHL Draft when Winnipeg took Danil in the third round, No. 77 overall.
Saginaw made Dimian its own first-round choice in 2024, selecting him No. 19. He quickly found support in the Spirit’s billet family, fan base, coaching staff and front office. Now, with his brother expected to be beside him next summer, Zhilkin is chasing the next version of the same draft-day dream.
