With the Pittsburgh Penguins entering the offseason after a brief return to the postseason, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 53 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until future seasons — with the organization.
Starting with veteran Noel Acciari and going on through to prospect Bill Zonnon, every player will be profiled in alphabetical order.
This series is scheduled to be published every day until June 24, two days before the start of the NHL Draft. In the event of a transaction, that schedule will be altered as necessary.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Puckpedia.)
Mikhail Ilyin
Position: Right winger
Shoots: Left
Age: 21
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 191 pounds
2025-26 AHL regular season statistics: Five games, two points (zero goals, two assists)
2025-26 AHL postseason statistics: Nine games, seven points (one goal, six assists)
2025-26 KHL regular season statistics: 68 games, 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists), 15:58 of average ice time per contest
2025-26 KHL postseason statistics: Five games, four points (three goals, one assist), 17:48 of average ice time per contest
Contract: In the first year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $851,667. Pending restricted free agent in 2028
(Ilyin does not require waivers for an assignment to a minor league affiliate.)
Acquired: Fifth-round draft pick (No. 142 overall), June 29, 2023
This season: After signing with the Penguins on May 31 and attending a prospect camp in July, Ilyin returned to his native Russia – as planned – and opened the season with Severstal Cherepovets of that country’s Kontinental Hockey League.
Starting the campaign on the left wing of Cherepovets’ top line, Ilyin went scoreless in his first five games. In total, Ilyin was limited to four assists in his first 10 games of the campaign.
By October, Ilyin began finding the net with more regularity and wound up being selected for the KHL’s All-Star Game in February.
A backhand-wraparound in OT! Wow, Mikhail Ilyin! pic.twitter.com/ABY0Naw4mz
— KHL (@khl_eng) January 21, 2026
Finishing as Cherepovets’ second-leading scorer, Ilyin helped his team reach the postseason, where it fell in the opening round to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, dropping a best-of-seven series, 4-1.
With his KHL season completed, Ilyin made the jump to North America and reported to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on April 7.
Making his American Hockey League debut, Ilyin was in the lineup for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s final five games of the regular season, primarily as a right winger on the top three lines.
At the start of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s postseason, Ilyin was on the right wing of the third line for the first two games before flipping to the left wing for the past seven contests.
A milestone occurred on May 5 during Game 3 of an Atlantic Division semifinal series when Ilyin scored his first career AHL goal in a 4-3 road overtime win against the Hershey Bears.
Ilyin’s first goal in North America is a big one!! pic.twitter.com/QbGX05kMjP
— x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) May 5, 2026
The future: In the immediate, Ilyin figures to remain entrenched on the left wing of the third line as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opens the Eastern Conference final on Wednesday against the Toronto Marlies.
From a long-term perspective, Ilyin remains a project considering his age (he turned 21 on Feb. 15) and his limited experience playing on this continent. A creative offensive talent with a strong shot, Ilyin, by his own admission, will likely always need to improve his skating.
But he took some considerable steps forward, no matter what part of the globe he was stationed in 2025-26. With regard to the KHL, he made a 14-point jump over his offensive figures from 2024-25. And obviously, making the move to the AHL is a major jump in his overall development.
As for 2026-27, Ilyin is expected to open the campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Ilyin’s development is heading in the right direction.