Silayev signed a three-year entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils in June 2026. His deal carries an average annual value (AAV) of $1.07M and runs through the 2028-29 season. The 20-year-old defender totaled three points in 61 games for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) this past season. The large (6-foot-7, 207 pounds) is expected with the Utica Comets (AHL), but he could find himself as a quick call-up candidate next fall (…if he doesn’t make the Devils outright out of camp).

Silayev’s second season was more of the same compared to his first in the KHL. His production was slightly better, with one more point this year compared to last, but Torpedo is one of the most defensively responsible teams in the KHL. Silayev should be an NHLer down the line. With his size, skating, and physicality, he is a perfect shutdown defender, which would be the envy of many NHL clubs. While Silayev’s puck skills are less than ideal, he should become a minute muncher for the Devils, and playing alongside other elite talents throughout the year should lead to him getting his fair share of points. Silayev is under contract with Torpedo for one more year. Still, once he finishes his season next year, he could make the jump to the NHL and play in the final few games of the season, similar to what Ivan Demidov (MTL) and Alexander Nikishin (CAR) did this year.

As an 18-year-old, logging meaningful minutes as a defenseman in the KHL is no easy task, and yet Silayev has done so with success. He has spent time in a third-pair role but has been rewarded for solid defensive play by spending time on the first penalty-killing unit for his team. He is still rough around the edges, but his defensive awareness, combined with elite skating ability, presents itself as an extremely encouraging development arc. His offensive game will need some work to be sure, with his shot non-threatening and his passing ability lacking consistency, but the blueprint for a minute-munching, no-nonsense defender is certainly there.

Silayev was selected 10th overall by the Devils.

Silayev lit up KHL scoresheets for the first month of the season and garnered a fair bit of attention, but we remained skeptical. It wasn’t until his production dried up that we started logging viewings sparking enthusiasm. While he remains raw, especially for a defenseman playing in the KHL as a draft-eligible, his tools are rather unique and the ceiling is high. Silayev covers a ton of ice, needing only three or four strides to cross the neutral zone. While he’s a bit wonky on his skates and rarely looks graceful, he uses his skating very effectively on both sides of the puck. Defensively, Silayev relies on his extraordinarily long reach and powerful strides to close gaps quickly and very aggressively. Early in the season, he regularly over-committed, leading to odd-man rushes against, and while he can still be aggressive to a fault, this element of his game has improved significantly in our viewings. With the puck on his stick, Silayev flashes above-average passing mechanics and vision, which allows him to be a positive impact in the breakout, defaulting to stretch passes and give-and-go’s. That said, his decision-making both with and without the puck and his composure remain real works in progress, which ended up being the deciding factor in our debate between him and Levshunov at 10. Sebastian High (November Rankings: 11th Overall)