The Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens]’ second-round pick at the last draft, Alexander Zharovsky, saw his KHL season come to an end yesterday when the Ufa Salavat Yulaev crashed out of the playoffs. The underdogs were swept in four games by Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, which featured former Hab Alexander Radulov. In the fourth and final game of the duel yesterday, Lokomotiv won 4-0, with Radulov scoring a goal and recording two assists. As for Zharovsky, he spent just over 16 minutes on the ice across 19 shifts, had two shots and two blocked shots. In 10 playoff games, the 19-year-old only put up a pair of assists. That’s nothing to write home about, but it’s important to remember that he’s still very young and playing against seasoned players in Russia’s top league. Just like in the NHL, the level of play goes up in the postseason. The right wing put up 16 goals and 26 assists for 42 points in his first complete season in the KHL. The 6-foot-2 and 176-pound player still needs to fill up before he’s ready to face North American professional hockey. Speaking on BPM Sports earlier this week, former NHL coach Bob Hartley, who’s now at the helm of Lokomotiv, was asked about the Canadiens’ prospect. He explained: > We know the playoffs are a different animal; they beat their first-round rival > in six games, and we shut them out in our first two games at home. There’s not > much room on the ice against us. We have an experienced defence corps that’s > robust as well, and we’ve kept a close eye on him. [..] The kid is only 19, > and he’s coming to terms with the reality of the playoffs, but he’s always > dangerous, he works very hard, and he’s an excellent skater. He sees the game > well, he’ll keep on improving, and the Canadiens definitely have a jewel > there. He’s an excellent hockey player, and from what I hear, he’s a hard > worker with an A1 attitude and a kid who, off the ice, is a great deal like > [Ivan] Demidov. - Bob Hartley on Zharovsky That sounds very promising, and it looks like Zharovsky, just like Demidov, will be worth the wait. Martin St-Louis has shown time and time again what he can do with young players who have a knack for reading the game. The end of next season could be very interesting for Canadiens’ fans when both Zharovsky and Michael Hage turn pro. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
