Hockey Stick Fittings Founder Justin Lafleur picks his first winner of the monthly award
We’re back for year two of the HockeyStickFittings.com Sniper of the Month series, and our first spotlight of the 2025–26 season goes to a guy who kicked the door down on opening night. Vegas Golden Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev has been named the Hockey Stick Fittings Sniper of the Month for October 2025—a lethal scorer who’s turning opportunity into pure damage on the top power-play unit.
Coming off a 35 goal season, Dorofeyev opened the 2025-2026 campaign with style, ripping a hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings on opening night, solidifying himself as one of the NHL’s newest most dangerous finishers. He followed that up by continuing to bury pucks through the month, driving Vegas’ offense and anchoring his spot down the right wall on the Golden Knights’ first power-play unit, where his 1-touch precision release and off-puck timing have become go-to weapons.
Rise of Pavel Dorofeyev
Dorofeyev, a third-round pick (79th overall) by Vegas in 2019, was born in Nizhny Tagil and developed through the Russian system before spending three seasons between Henderson (AHL) and the Golden Knights, steadily earning a permanent NHL spot. After flashes of skill in limited minutes, he seized a full-time top 6 role on the second line where he has built chemistry with veteran Tomas Hertl, pairing his natural scoring touch with improved pace, board work, and off-puck reads. Now 25 years old, he’s no longer a “sleeper”—he’s a centerpiece shooter on a contending team, trusted on PP1 to do exactly what this series celebrates: finish.
His weapon of choice? The lightweight Bauer Proto R (345 grams). With its mid-kick profile and powerful loading zone, it’s built for heavy, controlled strikes rather than pure whippy snapshots, perfectly matching Dorofeyev’s ability to lean on the shaft and hammer pucks through traffic before the goalie slides over in a single touch motion.
Want to score like Pavel Dorofeyev?
Just answer a few simple questions about your game at HockeyStickFittings.com. Our free online fitting tool scans the best sticks on the market—Bauer Proto R included—and builds you a custom, interactive report tailored to your shot, your budget, and your style of play. No phone number, no email, no credit card. Just smarter stick choices and more pucks in the back of the net.
