On Tuesday afternoon, five Montreal Canadiens players took to the ice at Hockey Etcetera for some 3-on-3 hockey in the Living Sisu Hockey League. Alexandre Carrier, Zachary Bolduc and Jake Evans, who are regulars in the league this offseason, were joined by Ivan Demidov and highly-touted prospect Alexander Zharovsky. The event was unsurprisingly sold out once word came out that the Russian duo would be on the ice, but you can see all the action right here. Word of warning, though: the commentary courtesy of Steve Begin and Andre Roy is not always clean or particularly relevant.

While everyone was looking forward to seeing what Zharovsky could do, it was Demidov who stole the show, scoring 5 goals in Team Manmade’s 13-12 defeat at the hands of Team LiveBarn. Dekes, one-timers, breakaways- he scored every way. Of course, this is just 3-on-3 hockey on a smaller ice surface, so it doesn’t necessarily mean much, but he was up and shoulders above everyone else. The speed, the hands- it felt like some players were rusty; the sophomore-to-be wasn’t at all. Granted, he committed his fair share of turnovers, but that kind of summer league is not a place where anybody focuses on the defensive side of the game or where the goaltenders have a good time.

There were times when he linked up quite nicely with Bolduc, a player who didn’t get a single game with the Russian prodigy last season. Martin St-Louis is known for bringing along his players slowly and improving their responsibility progressively, but he did give Bolduc some ice time with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield when Juraj Slafkovsky was put on Demidov’s line. Who knows, he may get a shot with him this season, especially if the Canadiens cannot find a way to acquire an impact second-line player before the puck drops on the 2026-27 campaign.

As for Zharovsky, he shone brightly when he took a penalty shot and took off on a breakaway, beating goaltender Gabriel Daigle on both occasions. Not unlike most players who are about to turn professional in North America, he tended to defer to his teammates and pass the puck more than he should have done, but that’s to be expected. The size of the ice surface probably didn’t help him either, as the action comes at you fast and furious with players right in your face. Still, you can see there’s a lot of potential there, but he’s still green and another year in the KHL certainly won’t hurt.

While it was fun to get a glimpse of what Zharovsky could do in that context, don’t expect him to be a regular for the rest of the offseason. The prospect was set to spend 40 days in Montreal this summer, and since he arrived on June 10, his stay is very likely nearing its end, especially since the training camps open in the KHL on August 1 and he’ll no doubt want to have some time to get over the jet lag before that happens. Overall, this will have been an excellent experience for the youngster who got a taste of Demidov’s supreme work ethic, and Canadiens fans can get excited about what he will bring to the table when his KHL contract expires at the end of the season.

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