Maxim Shabanov, one of the most intriguing young Russian forwards outside the NHL, has taken a massive step toward joining the league. On Friday, the 24-year-old officially signed with Quartexx Hockey, one of the NHL’s most powerful player representation agencies—a move that strongly signals his intent to cross over to North America for the 2025-26 season.
Shabanov’s new agency represents a long list of NHL stars, including Taylor Hall, Mitch Marner, Kris Letang, and others. But perhaps more importantly for Shabanov, Quartexx is known for its aggressive strategy when it comes to securing NHL entry-level contracts for international talent.
Sources close to the situation suggest that Quartexx wouldn’t bring Shabanov into their client group unless there was a realistic plan to place him with an NHL team this offseason. While the winger has not yet signed an NHL deal, multiple teams—including the Philadelphia Flyers and Vegas Golden Knights—have expressed strong interest.
Shabanov is coming off a strong campaign in the KHL (Russia’s top league), where he displayed a lethal scoring touch, high-end hockey IQ, and the type of speed and offensive awareness that translates well to the NHL game.
With his agency now in place and the NHL Draft just days away, a move could be finalized as soon as the free-agent market opens in July.
If all goes as expected, Maxim Shabanov could be the next KHL-trained forward to make a splash in the NHL—and with Quartexx guiding the way, it’s not a matter of if, but when.
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