There may just be a chance that first-round pick Gleb Pugachyov attends the Montreal Canadiens' development camp this week. Read on for all the details.
On Friday night, the Montreal Canadiens picked Gleb Pugachyov with the 26th overall pick, a third Russian in as many years and another Gold Star client. On Saturday, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu confirmed with his agent, Dan Milstein, that the prospect weighed 224 pounds, not 198 as listed on the Central Scouting final list and that he had two years left on his contract in the KHL.
Interestingly, Milstein also stated that there’s a chance the big forward could attend next week’s development camp, scheduled for June 30 to July 2 at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard, provided the visa process is efficient. The prospect is currently in Florida at the Gold Star camp, which could speed up the process.
Given the fact that GM Kent Hughes has said that Pugachyov’s play is quite mature and that he may be near ready for NHL action, it would certainly be interesting to see how he measures up with the other prospects of the organization.
Given the Canadiens’ lineup needs at this stage, one has to wonder whether Pugachyov’s arrival in the organization might mean Montreal would be more willing to move Alexander Zharovsky for immediate help, provided it’s for a player who really moves the needle the right way. However, it’s worth remembering that when Hughes spoke to the media on Friday night, it was clear that he highly values the organization’s top prospects and won’t be talked into trading them unless he feels he is getting good value.
The 2025 draft product might have been a second-round pick, but most would agree he should have been selected in the first round, making him a bit of a steal for the Canadiens. Given the fact that Nick Bobrov has said the Canadiens would have picked him at 16 or 17 overall had they not traded the picks, they clearly think very highly of him.
As things stand, at least from an outside standpoint, it would make more sense to move Zharovsky than to move Michael Hage. While it’s far from guaranteed that Hage will turn out to be a center in the NHL, there are plenty of players who struggle filling that role at the highest level. The Canadiens would be ill-advised to trade him unless they are absolutely certain that he won’t turn into a real top-six center when he makes the jump in the NHL. Unless, of course, he’s part of a package to land an already established top-six pivot.
This weekend’s draft has marked a real shift in the Canadiens’ drafting strategy. While they are, of course, still mindful of taking the best prospect available, it certainly feels like they’ve made a conscious effort to get bigger after being physically dominated in the last two postseasons.
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