While the Montreal Canadiens' rookie camp is going on in town, other Habs prospects who are plying their trade in Europe have already started playing or, in some cases, should have started playing.

The Canadiens’ top choice at the last draft, Alexander Zharovsky (34th overall), should have played for Ufa Salavat Yulayev in the KHL. Still, he wasn’t in the lineup because of an injury sustained while playing basketball. Some sources led us to believe the injury wasn’t too serious and he could be back in the lineup for this weekend’s game. Still, in a post-game press conference, his coach, former NHLer Viktor Kozlov, indicated that not only will he not be back this weekend, but he added he’s not even close to returning.

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While that’s not ideal news, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the ankle injury he sustained was serious. It’s much better to see the Russian side err on the side of caution with the prized prospect than rush him back.

Meanwhile, in the Swedish Hockey League, Filip Eriksson, the Canadiens’ sixth-round pick and 165th selection overall at the 2023 draft, started his season with a bang with Lulea. The 20-year-old center came out roaring out of the gates and scored the first goal of the game just 11 seconds in. He would go on to add two more goals in his side’s 5-0 and added an assist on Jakob Ihs Wozniak’s goal.

That’s four points in just under 15 minutes of ice time, a promising debut to say the least. It’s worth noting, however, that he scored his three goals on three shots; that kind of shooting percentage is not sustainable.

Eriksson will be back in action on Tuesday night when they take on Brynas IF, who lost their first game 7-4 to the Växjö Lakers. The youngster must, however, be looking forward to September 25, when he’ll be taking on the team he was loaned to last season, Djurgardens IF. The youngster signed a two-year deal with Luela this offseason, and so far, it looks like it was money well invested.

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