There was a lot of action in Russia yesterday, and this year, more than ever, The Hockey News will be keeping an eye on the KHL and how the Montreal Canadiens' prospects fare.
After spending a sizeable part of his summer in Montreal training with Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens prospect Alexander Zharovsky played his last preseason game with Salavat Yualev UFA against Metallurg Magnitogorsk on Saturday. Despite his team losing 3-2 in overtime, Zharovsky still picked up an assist and looked ready for the regular season.
Meanwhile, Gleb Pugachyov played with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, who opted to rely on youth in their duel with the Shanghai Dragons and ended up on the wrong side of a 7-3 defeat despite taking an early 3-0 lead. Pugachyov didn’t put up any points, even though his linemate scored two goals.
Pugachyov could play anywhere in Torpedo’s system this season; the KHL, the VHL, or the MHL are all possibilities. Should he play in the KHL, he would spend the season with fellow Canadiens prospect Bogdan Konyushkov. The right-shot defenseman signed a two-year ELC deal with the Habs this summer after Torpedo agreed to terminate his contract and reached an agreement that he would be loaned to them until May 31, 2027 (which was the end date of his contract).
The regular season in the KHL will kick off on Saturday, September 5, with Torpedo taking on Spartak and Salavat Yulaev taking on Severstal. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the KHL this season, not only to see how Zharovsky follows on from his rookie of the year season, but also to see how Konyushkov is doing in his last season in the Russian circuit and whether Pugachyov manages to land a regular role with Torpedo. Should all three prospects pan out, the Canadiens could soon have a very imposing Russian group, something that hasn’t been seen in quite some time.
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